Boone County Fair Opens Today!

This is opening day of the Boone County Fair, which will run thru Saturday July 30th.  There are so many different activities at the fair this year including: 4-H shows, Boone County Fair Queen, Baby Contests, Children's Barnyard, Carnival, Demolition Derby, countless concerts, and even fireworks on the weekends!  It will be a fair for all ages and for the family.  Here's a link to the fair schedule. 

Some fun facts about the fair:

• The Boone County Fair was first held in 1835, only 15 years after Boone County & Columbia were founded.
• It was the first county fair west of the Mississippi.
• It was originally held as a stock show to show horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, etc.
• The first location was north of Broadway between Short St and Price Avenue (which now is the heart of downtown!)
• In 1897, the fair was held at the north end of 5th Street and became a large show for horse races. Entries were brought from Kentucky, California & Louisiana. 
• In 1910, the feature race was between a horse, an ostrich and an automobile...the ostrich won!
• The fair discontinued in 1918.  The first ham breakfast was held in 1946 and in planning the 2nd annual ham breakfast, there was interest in bringing the fair back. 
• From 1948 to 1991, the Boone County Fair was held at the fairgrounds on the corner of Clinkscales & Ash St (the location of the ARC now).
• In 1992, they traded the land at Ash & Clinkscales for the land formerly known as Cotton Woods Airport just north of Columbia on Oakland Gravel Road.  The fair is still being held at this location.

JK