Randolph County Fair kicking off Saturday
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BEVERLY -- For the past two decades, the Randolph County Fair has drawn visitors to 4-H Camp Pioneer for the annual celebration that showcases the county's unique rural heritage.
The event, which was established in 2004, will get underway Saturday with the Miss and Miss Teen Randolph County Fair Pageant. The fair will conclude seven days later with a full slate of activities on Saturday, Aug. 26.
"It's looking to be a very, very good week," RCF Board President Kathie Staten told The Inter-Mountain. "We are really excited about everything we have scheduled, including some of the new things we've added this year.
"The rodeo events are usually the biggest nights we have. One of the new things we are doing this year and we are excited about is a bingo card where people will go through the fair grounds and try to fill up the bingo card with a chance to win $500."
Doors for the pageant on Saturday will open at 6:30 p.m., and the competition will begin at 7 p.m. On Sunday, the fair gates will open at 11 a.m. when registration begins for a noon cornhole tournament and a 1 p.m. mud bog race. The children's pageant will begin later in the evening at 5:30 p.m.
"We have eight queen contestants and three teen contestants for Saturday's pageant," Staten said. "We have two nights of children's pageants on Sunday and Monday, and we have 54 contestants total for that. They range from zero to 12 years old."
The RCF children's pageant will conclude on Monday at 6 p.m. Several events highlight Tuesday's schedule, including a produce, field crop, culinary and craft exhibit show at the AG Building. The RCF Kick Off Parade will also be offered Tuesday at 7 p.m. in downtown Beverly.
Things begin to pick up on Wednesday as the carnival opens for the first time on "Back to School Family Fun Night" at the fair. There will be 4-H/FFA Tractor and Mower Exhibits set up at 5 p.m. and the carnival will open at 6 p.m. A Pet Show is also scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
"Our back to school family fun night is new this year," Staten said. "It's the first day of school for kids in the county and we have a bunch of different community organizations that are providing games and activities for the kids that evening. The carnival will also be running and we are going to be doing a huge karaoke night during Family Fun Night, so it should be a lot of fun for everyone."
The RCF will then host Senior Day on the upper 4-H campus on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free and there will be a host of Senior Day activities for those who attend.
A 4-H/FFA Showmanship Contest will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by ATV and motorcycle drag races at 7 p.m.
The schedule on Friday will kick off with Educational Day for Fourth Grade county students from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A 4-H/FFA animal show will begin at 5:30 p.m., and Michael Bonnett & River's Edge will begin performing at the same time. A Mutton Bustin' competition will start at 7 p.m., and a Rodeo and Calf scramble will begin at 8 p.m.
A full-blown schedule is slated for Saturday as activities get underway at 9 a.m. with a Color Run/Walk at 9 a.m. A 4-H/FFA Youth Quiz Bowl will be held at 9:30 a.m.
Beginning at 10 a.m., there will be an EnduroCross Dirt Bike Race, West Virginia Cutting Horse Association Exhibition, Homemade Craft Show and Heritage Demonstrations.
"The dirt bike race is something else we have that is brand new this year," Staten said. "It's basically motocross with obstacles in it like trees, mudholes and things like that. Right now we are just doing the dirt bikes, but if it goes well we may add the quads next year. It will be exciting, the riders will go up through the woods and through a complete course."
On Saturday afternoon, a Livestock Sale will begin at 1:15 p.m., and the band Cross Town Traffic will begin performing at 3 p.m.
The Greased Pig contest is slated for 4 p.m., followed by a Kid Pedal Tractor contest and Cow Patty Bingo at 5 p.m. The day will be capped off by the Tractor Pull at 6 p.m. and a fireworks display at 9 p.m.
The carnival will run daily from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. beginning on Thursday evening. On its opening day Wednesday, the carnival will operate from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Before 2004, the Randolph County Fair was part of the annual AG Day that included a livestock show and sale, as well as the annual Ox Roast fundraising event.
The fair was originally organized to help promote the livestock show and sale, and to showcase Randolph County through a countywide celebration.
For more information, visit www.randolphcountyfairwv.com or go to the RCF's Facebook page.