ELEANOR, W.Va. — A longstanding tradition that has been in place for over 40 years, the Putnam County Fair is again underway in the town of Eleanor.
The fair kicked off Friday, July 7 and will go through Saturday, July 15 with carnival rides, musical entertainment, livestock and track events and more at the Ernest Page Jr. Fairgrounds.
Putnam County Fair President Krista Snodgrass said it’s the area’s own homegrown fair that residents look forward to every year.
“We’re not as big as the State Fair of West Virginia, but obviously the Putnam County Fair is something great, we have a strong agricultural background, so that’s great that we can highlight that and keep those traditions going,” Snodgrass said.
She said something that has become a part of that agricultural tradition are the continuously growing kid’s livestock projects on display at the fair through 4-H and Future Farmers of America.
A robust lineup of various entertainment fills the 9-day schedule of events during the fair, starting with truck and tractor pulls and rabbit and goat shows this weekend.
This Saturday country singer Shane Profitt takes to the amphitheater at the fairgrounds at 8:30 p.m.
The fair continues throughout next week with a demolition derby, a championship wrestling event known as Wrasslepalooza, a market steer show and a bulls and barrels rodeo, a Joey Stepp magic show, and lawn mower and motocross races.
Next weekend’s musical performances will feature Josh Pantry opening up for Mikele Buck on Friday and Tyler Braden on Saturday, which will be wrapped up with a fireworks display starting at 10 p.m.
Snodgrass said fair-goers can also expect to see additions to the over a week-long event that hasn’t been there before.
“This year we’ve added monster trucks on Sunday, so that’s a new event for us, we’ve never had monster trucks and we’re really looking forward to that,” she said.
Another new event to hit the grounds this year is a track event called Kid’s Car Extravaganza, where kids can bring their own power wheel cars to participate in four different activities including a derby.
Snodgrass said they expect to see a lot of people make their way out to the fair this year.
“We are expecting a big turnout, so hopefully the weather is in our favor this year but if it’s now, if we have some rain showers, just put on your boots and we’re still going to have a good time,” Snodgrass said.
It’s a $10 admission per day at the fair for ages 2 and up, and tickets can be purchased at the gate upon entry. People can visit Putnam County Fair for a complete list of events and activities.