WADENA — It’s that time of year again for this year’s Wadena County Fair to start. But the Wadena County Agricultural Society has been working hard to make this year’s bigger and better.
“As soon as we're done with the previous year's fair, we start talking about what we'll be doing and what we want to pull in and do for the next year, so it's a year-round deal,” Wadena County Agricultural Society Vice President Charlie Wachlin said. Pendulum Ride
The 130th Wadena County Fair will take place June 19-23 at the Wadena County Fairgrounds in Wadena, along Highway 10 at 400 Ash Avenue NW. The location is northwest of Highway 71, just past The BBQ Smokehouse headed out of town.
“We're focusing on family and youth this year, so we've got a magician that’ll be there, family fun games, a foam zone. And we'll have the exotic petting zoo,” Wachlin said. “Those will be all new attractions this year.”
Side-by-side barrel races at the grandstand arena were introduced at last year's fair. A utility vehicle or side-by-side barrel race is a timed event similar to horse barrel racing, using three identical barrels set in a cloverleaf pattern. Barrels are empty and comprised of plastic material.
“We haven't really cut anything, and we've tried to add to it. We don't want to take away from what the people have known to like and come for,” Wachlin said. “We want to add to it, so we really have not gotten rid of anything since last year or the last couple of years.”
More than 40 different shows and events were planned for the 2022 fair, along with a carnival midway, 4-H and FFA project displays, a kids petting zoo and plenty of food options.
“We need to get back to our roots, is kind of what our board has been talking about doing, so to get to that, we want to get the kids more involved and to have more activities at the fair to keep the families and the children involved,” said Wachlin, who grew up on a farm south of Wadena.
The Wadena County Fair is planned and presented by the Wadena County Agricultural Society, a board made up of volunteers. The annual event is made possible through the generosity of sponsors and fair-goers, according to the fair’s website.
“We have it early in the year,” Wachlin said of its popularity and free general admission, except to grandstand events. “It's a good reason and way for people to get out. And we try to keep it low expense, so anybody and everybody can come and enjoy what we have to offer at the fair.”
“Hero’s Day” is Wednesday with the side-by-side barrel races at the grandstand starting at 7 p.m. Those in the military, veterans, firefighters, emergency medical responders, police officers, health care professionals, etc. will get free grandstand admission with proper identification.
“Thursday, we'll have our rodeo again. And we call that ‘Daycare Day’ … when the fair maybe won't be quite as busy … to get to our new entertainment like the magician and the foam zone and the family fun games that we'll have up in that area by the information center,” he said.
Other grandstand events include the (new) draft horse competition at 11 a.m. and the Enduro races at 6 p.m. on June 21; the antique tractor pull at noon and the United Pullers of Minnesota tractor pull at 7 p.m. on June 22; and the 1 p.m. demotion derby on June 23.
“I like to see the smiles on the kids’ and the adults’ faces. The more people we can get in there, the better and happier we are … being able to provide that for the local community and the kids,” Wachlin said.
“And we're always looking for more volunteers or people who are willing to help and donate some time, be it anything from helping in the ticket booth to helping with garbage cans at the end of the day. Anytime, anywhere, we're always looking for volunteers.”
For more information about the Wadena County Fair, call 218-539-8158, email wadenacountyfair@gmail.com or visit www.wadenacountyfairmn.com . For a full schedule of the fair, visit https://tinyurl.com/countyfairschedule .
Carousel Merry Go Round FRANK LEE is the features writer for the Wadena Pioneer Journal. He may be reached at 218-631-6470 or at flee@wadenapj.com .