The 184th Seneca County Fair opened Monday morning with a ceremony at the Gate 1 area, launching eight days of livestock shows, grandstand events and youth competition at the fairgrounds on Hopewell Avenue.
Ticket booths opened at 8 a.m., the same hour Junior and Senior Fair exhibitors were required to have all entries in place. The fair runs through Sunday, Aug. 2.
The grounds actually came to life a day earlier, on Sunday evening, when Senior Fair harness racing with pari-mutuel wagering ran at the grandstand. Racing returns Monday at 6 p.m.
The scale of the youth side of the fair is substantial. The market livestock exhibitor list posted by the fair, generated Sunday, lists 750 market animal entries from 455 individual young exhibitors — led by meat goats, market hogs, broiler meat pens, dairy feeders and market lambs. Those animals go through the Junior Fair Livestock Sale beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, with champions of each species selling first.
Monday: Farm Bureau Day, veterans free
Monday is Seneca County Farm Bureau Day, and veterans are admitted free all day. A Senior Fair dinner for veterans and their families is set for 5:30 p.m. in the Entertainment Building.
The night belongs to the Junior Fair. The 6:30 p.m. program in the Education Building includes the crowning of the fair king and queen, 4-H awards, and induction into the county Agricultural Hall of Fame. Adam Sendelbach performs in the Entertainment Building from 7 to 9 p.m.
Daytime judging Monday covers poultry, general livestock, floral, crafts and collections, with the dairy show at 1 p.m. and the Senior Fair swine judging at 6 p.m. Kids activities run in the Booth Building from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day of the fair, and a fishing pond outside the Youth Center is open from 2 to 4 p.m. daily.
The rest of the week
Tuesday is North Central Electric Cooperative Day, with free admission for anyone 60 and older. Goat shows start at 8 a.m., and the evening brings the 4-H style revue at 6:30 p.m., the antique machinery parade at 6:30 p.m. and the pig scramble at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday is Ag Credit Day. Baked goods entries are accepted from 9 a.m. to noon, judged at noon and auctioned at 5:30 p.m. Presley Eastlick plays the Farm Stage from 5 to 7 p.m. The grandstand headliner is Anne Wilson, the Grammy-nominated Christian country singer from Lexington, Kentucky, best known for the platinum single “My Jesus,” with special guest Band Reeves. The fair’s schedule lists the show at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday is Your Legacy Federal Credit Union Day. The draft horse and pony hitch show runs at 9:30 a.m. at the grandstand, the Junior Fair swine show at 5 p.m., the Kyle Garrison Memorial Livestock Scramble at 6 p.m. and Nick Foos on the Farm Stage from 7 to 9 p.m.
Friday is Mercy Health Tiffin Hospital Day, with PeeWee showmanship in all arenas from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a kiddie tractor pull from 4 to 6 p.m. Bulls and Barrels takes the grandstand at 7 p.m.; admission is $10. Seventy80 plays the Entertainment Building.
Saturday is Clouse Electric Day and the busiest day on the schedule: the livestock sale at 9 a.m., a classic tractor and truck pull at 9 a.m., a cheerleading contest at 10 a.m., horseshoe pitching at 10 a.m., a garden tractor pull at noon, and the best dressed animal contest at 5 p.m. The demolition derby closes the night at 7 p.m., at $10 for grandstand seats and $15 for the infield.
Sunday is Clouse Construction Day and the final day. A church service opens the morning at 9 a.m. in the Education Building, Senior Fair members elect directors between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., the feeder calf sale runs at 1 p.m., and the sub eating contest is at 2 p.m. The Ohio State Tractor Pullers Association closes the fair with a pull at 5 p.m.; grandstand and infield tickets are $20.
If you go
The fairgrounds are at 100 Hopewell Ave. in Tiffin. Admission and season passes are sold at the gates and through the fair’s online ticket portal; current rates are posted on the fair’s website. The Senior Fair office can be reached at 419-447-7888.
A full day-by-day breakdown is available on the fair’s schedule page, and the grandstand and Farm Stage lineup is listed on its entertainment page.
