Now And Later: Carnival Will Be Coming To Fairgrounds In August, Not For This Weekend’s County Fair

The Ste. Genevieve County Fair celebrates its 75th anniversary this week, and there will be some changes from years past.

There will even be some changes from the original schedule for this weekend, as Zero Tolerance with Sam Hadel and Jason Church will replace Crossroads as the band performing on Saturday night.

But perhaps the change that has brought the most questions for fair board president Keith Skaggs is about the carnival rides.

There will not be a carnival at the fair this year. Instead, Fountain City Amusements of St. Louis will be coming to the fairgrounds on the second week of August. …

Skaggs and the fair board sought out a new carnival ride vendor for this year. They found the vendor but couldn’t make the schedule work.

“They’re on the other side of Missouri at the time of our county fair,” Skaggs said. “In the future, we will try to book these people with the county fair.”

For this year, it will be the second weekend in August. Skaggs talked with Jour de Fete Committee president Jami Inman to make certain it would be a good idea.

“I figure the parents will go there [to Jour de Fete in downtown Ste. Genevieve] and the kids will come up here [to the fairgrounds],” Skaggs said. …

There will be no horse show this year, as the horse arena was converted to a small dirt-track racing oval. Kart and lawnmower races will take place there at 7 p.m. on Thursday night, replacing the sanctioned tractor pulls that had taken place in recent years in the demo arena.

Two new items are a mechanical bull and “The Hangman,” a bar from which hanging for 100 seconds could result in a prize.

The fair kicks off with a chicken dinner at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the VFW Hall, put on by the 4-H Club.

Friday will see the fair queen speaking and talent competition at 10 a.m. and fashion competition at 2 p.m. with the crowning taking place at 6 p.m.

The contestants will be among the many entries in the fair parade, always one of the big spectacles. The parade will be Friday, starting at 4:30 p.m. at Progress Parkway and taking Fourth Street to the fairgounds.

The truck pull will be at 7 p.m. Friday.

Saturday will see an antique tractor and gas engine expo all day, with an antique tractor parade through the fairgounds at 1 p.m.

Rabbit and guinea pig judging will be at 8 a.m., followed by the sheep and goat show and the youth beef show.

The petting zoo, added in 2018, will be open 5 to 7 p.m. Friday. This year, it will be located under a tent where the sand volleyball courts once were. The petting zoo will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

At noon on Saturday, the washer tournament and bicycle/tricycle rodeo will take place, followed by the tractor parade and an Expressions Dance Show Presentation at 2 p.m.

The chicken chip squares competition coordinated by the University of Missouri Extension  also will be at 2 p.m., with the quarter scramble and turtle derby that afternoon.

The 4-H and FFA award ceremony will be at 4:30 p.m, followed by the youth livestock sale.

The demolition derby and Power Wheels action will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday evening.

On Sunday, the tractor pull will be held at 11 a.m., with another chicken chip squares event at noon.

Muddy Money Madness will close out the fair at 5 p.m.

The Demolition Derby would take place at 7 p.m. Sunday, if it is rained out on Saturday.