Fair time is almost here
PARK HILLS — With the start of the St. Francois County Fair less than three weeks away, final preparations to the grounds are being made to accommodate this year’s event. Fair Board President Steve Morris said the fair board has made several upgrades this year including a new truck and tractor pulling track.
The new track is located behind the raceway and includes two pulling lanes. The raceway track previously hosted the truck and tractor pulls. The fair board has battled rain the past two years on the day of the pulls. By building a new track with better soil conditions than the clay on the track, the board is hopeful wet conditions will not play as big a factor. Brad Detring and Jeremy Clay are heading up the fair’s truck and tractor pull this year.
The board has also made improvements to the back parking lot to accommodate more parking. Morris said Kerry Bauman and Base Rock Minerals have donated several tons of rock to help fill in the parking lot.
“Heisel Equipment has also provided us with a backhoe and a bulldozer,” Morris said. “We are very lucky that these businesses are willing to lend a hand to help the fair out.”
A sand volleyball court is being constructed for a tournament to be held on Aug. 1 at the fair. Waterworks Specialties, Inc. has donated drainage pipe that will run under the sand to allow proper runoff. Lindsey Taylor is spearheading the volleyball tournament. The six-person tournament will get under way at 10 a.m. Contact Taylor at 573-330-0642 for registration.
A new hog run between the hog barn and the show barn has been constructed. Morris gave credit to Matt Hoehn and Charlie Tripp for doing most of the work. He also said the FFA and 4H members have also helped out.
“They have done a tremendous job on this,” he said. “It looks great.”
A new livestock washrack was built behind the stall barn. Wendell Jarvis, Donnie Davis, David Laut, Jim Howard, and Steve Worley spent the weekend running water lines to the new concrete pad.
“We will have everything up and running by fair time,” Morris said. “We have a good board that is committed to making our fair one of the best in the state.”
Reserved VIP seating for the July 31 Jamey Johnson Concert went on sale July 1 through Metrotix. The tickets are $15 and can be purchased at all MetroTix locations. Charge by phone at 314-534-1111 or online at metrotix.com.
The fair board increased the number of VIP tickets from 300 to 1,000 for this year’s concert because of Johnson’s popularity. Hillbilly Authority will open for Johnson. This year’s concert will keep with the tradition of previous fairs by offering free bleacher seating with $6 paid general admission to the fair.
The fair runs July 28-Aug. 1.
Chris Cline is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact him at 573-431-2010, ext. 114 or at ccline@dailyjournalonline.com.
