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To our Fair Friends and Family:

On behalf of the entire Isle of Wight County Fair Committee, I would like to cordially invite you to the 30^th annual County Fair, winner of International and Statewide awards. The Committee has planned another wonderful event this year to honor and celebrate our great community. The theme for this year is “Come One, Come All—Isle of Wight’s Got It All” to commemorate the Isle of Wight County Fair Committee’s commitment to bring you the best Fair it can to honor its deep and strong agricultural heritage.  We are looking forward to and hoping for this years’ fair to be our very best!!!

We have two popular events for an early kick-off to the fair again this year. Our very exciting Truck and Tractor Points Pull the night of Saturday, September 9th and the wonderful, delicious Seafood Fest on Wednesday, September 13^th featuring all you care to eat fried catfish, steamed shrimp, fried chicken, coleslaw, baked beans, hushpuppies and beverages, with entertainment by the regional band “Nashville Nights.”

There are some new and exciting things at the fair this year in addition to a few of the great attractions we have had in past years. We are bringing the popular Southwest Dairy Farmers Mobile Dairy Classroom back this year, where they will be doing educational milking demonstrations over by the Field and Garden Building. Laser Tag is coming back and best of all, it is free to the patrons. Another returning and popular attraction we are having this year, is Axe Throwing, a great experience indeed. The Demolition Derby is back again on Sunday afternoon, bringing a bigger show than ever to our fair, including the kids Power Wheels competition! The ever-popular Hay Bale decorating contest, is back again, where round bales of hay are decorated by the schools, various businesses and a few by individuals. In addition, this year, fair attendees will be able to get admission tickets cheaper if bought online in lieu of at the gate!!! Please visit our website at thefairiscoming.com for more detail.

Again, this year, the fair is bringing back the excitement of “Bull Riding” and “Barrel Racing” along with “Mutton Bustin” and “Mini Bull Riding” at the Rodeo arena with real cowboys!! In the Field and Garden building, our local farmers and gardeners can compete for best crops, and the little ones can play in a corn /soybean box. In partnership with the Isle of Wight Schools, there will be goats, rabbits, chickens and maybe even a heifer or two, where they are showcasing their Land Lab farming skills. Our local 4-H folks will feature a feeder pig, heifer show, goat show, and ham competitions in the 4-H building.

Be sure to visit our International Award Winning, Agriculture Education Center, a donated grain bin that houses flat screen tvs with various videos featuring planting, growing and harvesting a variety of farm crops and the raising of livestock including “birthing” of animals. If you watch closely, many of the videos feature some of our local area farmers. In that area is a farm life wall mural that the children will be able to color and fill in and various games. Outside, the kids milk a cow in our Farmer for a Day display, and play to their hearts content, in the huge sand box out in front of the center.

We have four ground acts planned again this year including a new and a little different “The Pompeyo Family & Their Amazing Dogs” as seen on America’s Got Talent with many stunts and tricks with their rescue dogs!!! Another new show this year is “MAX Power and Nitro”, a roaming show with a 9-foot tall and 5-foot-wide robot walks, talks and dances throughout the fairgrounds. New this year, is “Rock-N-Circus”, a fast paced, high-energy show of juggling, aerial stunts magic and a 65-foot-high dive, amazing audiences everywhere. In addition, the “Firefighter Training Show” is back, a family oriented educational show and entertaining kid event., where kids will be invited to participate.

We have a fantastic entertainment lineup, with performances of several genres, on either the Duke Chevrolet GMC Stage or the Barton Ford Stage almost the entire time the fair is open. On Friday night, there will be Virginia’s own Spencer Hatcher opening for National recording star, Brandon Lay with songs such as “Speakers, Bleachers and Preachers”. On Saturday night will be regional band, Running Shine will be opening for country singer and songwriter Dillon Carmichael with chart topping songs, such as “Son of A”, “Lucky Man”, and “Dancing Away With My Heart”. In addition, we have many popular regional and local bands entertaining on both stages, including Soul Patch, Zen Mojo, Strictly Bizzness and on Sunday during the car show, there will be Main Street Band!!

Deggeller Attractions will be here to provide a large variety of midway rides for all ages. We will have twenty-four food vendors (mostly local) to provide a huge variety of wonderful fair food, to satisfy almost any appetite. There will be Antique Tractors and equipment, Monster Truck Rides, the Car Show, Award-winning Face Painting and Camel and Pony Rides.

Thursday night is carload night where admission and ride tickets for up to eight legally seated in a car is $50.00 if bought online in advance, a very good deal for families. Friday is school day with special group rates and Senior Day where Senior Citizens get in between 10 am and 2 pm for $1.00. We also have special “Sunflower Hours” on Friday from 12 pm – 4 pm where our patrons with disabilities can get in for $1.00. Sunday is Military Appreciation Days with a valid Military ID admission is only $5.00 if bought online in advance, or $5 off regular admission at the gate. This year, there will be the option to buy ride wristbands for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for $22.00 for any one day if bought in advance. If bought the day of, they will be $25.00 for Friday and Sunday and $30.00 for Saturday.

It is nearly impossible to do everything that we have at the fair. It is this Fair Committee’s sincere desire that this year’s fair will be the best fun-filled family entertainment for our community, with a celebration of our agriculture heritage and with a bit of education thrown in. We certainly hope you come to visit us and make the most out of what our fair has to offer. Welcome and enjoy every single bit of the “Come One, Come All, Isle of Wight’s Got It All” as we Celebrate 30 Years at the 2023 Isle of Wight County Fair!

Sincerely,

Danny Byrum,

Chairman, Isle of Wight County Fair