Kimball-Banner County Fair opening date nears for people in the area

With the summer season in full swing, it is once again time for the Kimball-Banner County Fair Days.

The 95th Kimball-Banner County Fair Days are set to take place between August 6 and August 12th in Kimball.

According to Doug Lukassen, Secretary of the Kimball County Ag Society and President of the Nebraska Association of Fair Managers, the fair will offer several new events this year including a pedal tractor pull event the evening of Sunday, August 11.

"Each age group is a separate division with divisions running four throughout 12 years old. The top three in each age division qualify for state at the state fair. We also have an adult class of 15 and over, where two, a male and female, qualify. It'll cost 10 dollars, and we'll probably give prize money to the top five teams," Lukassen said.

Along with the tractor pull, fair goers will also have the opportunity to take in a rodeo on Saturday starting at 8 p.m. with another rodeo the following day at 2 p.m. There will also be a family dance heat at the 4-H building at the Fair Grounds Saturday night following the rodeo.

For those residents who just want to sit back and relax, organizers will also have a beer garden on site the weekend of August 9 through August 11, opening the garden 4:00 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday as well as from noon to midnight on Sunday.

Along with the planned activities, the fair will also have live entertainment in the form of county music recording artist Jason Brown who will be coming to Kimball the night of August 9, starting his set at 7:30 p.m.

Much of the entertainment and activities were booked at the start of January at the Nebraska Association of Fair Managers which Lukassen attended as the state president of the organization. However, it is not unusual for different aspects of the fair to be locked in place so far in advance as planning the fair is a year long effort, according to Lukassen.

"When fair gets over, we start planning for next year. I would say there's 12 on the Ag Society Board that help organize the fair, and we have about five or eight other volunteers that help. It takes a lot of time and effort," Lukassen said.

Though planning the fair takes a lot of hard work, Lukassen still looks forward to the fair days every year.

"It's a lot of fun. It's nice to see stuff happen in Kimball and to bring rodeo and entertainment back to Kimball," Lukassen said.

However, to Lukassen, the main thought behind the fair doesn't come from a place of making money or anything of that sort, but rather it's a way to help families in the community and providing something that kids can enjoy as well as adults.

"To help the youth is the main thing. It's very family oriented," Lukassen said.