Farm Life

Nebraska county fairs are back

COVID-19 put a wrench in 2020 plans for many events in the state.

Curt Arens, Editor, Nebraska Farmer

June 4, 2021

9 Min Read

FAIRS ARE BACK: Last summer, most county fairs and the Nebraska State Fair operated with pared-down versions that focused on youth contests for 4-H and FFA, without carnivals or entertainment. This summer, fairs will look much more like normal, with full schedules of activities being planned. Curt Arens

County fairs this summer will be something special, especially since COVID-19 shut down or altered nearly all of the 2020 county fairs in Nebraska, along with causing a major change in the format of the Nebraska State Fair.

This summer looks like a breakout year for fairs. With optimism abounding, everyone is looking forward to getting out and about and enjoying the company of their friends and neighbors at large-scale festivals and events, such as the county fairs.

In rural Nebraska, county fairs are a little like coming home, because they offer an opportunity for neighbors across the counties and around the region to catch up on each other’s lives, enjoy some homegrown entertainment, and watch their young 4-H and FFA members compete in contests together. This is where lifelong friendships are made and nurtured. It is a county coming together to celebrate agriculture and rural life.

Our state has county fairs from the tiniest communities such as unincorporated Tryon in McPherson County, all the way to Omaha in Douglas County. Every corner of the state enjoys county fairs, including Dundy County in the far southwest at Benkelman, all the way up to the Boyd County Fair at Spencer. Don’t forget the Richardson County Fair in the far southeast at Humboldt, all the way up to the Sioux County Fair at Harrison in the northwest Panhandle, and all points in between.

From the beginning of July until the middle of September, you could attend several county fairs across the state almost every week. It’s been a few years since we attempted to list all of the dates and locations of county fairs in Nebraska, but this year we tried to compile as complete of a list as possible, with 92 fairs and the Nebraska State Fair listed in our compilation.

We hope that you will take this summer opportunity to visit your local county fair and the fairs of surrounding counties. It is a summer thing to do in Nebraska, and after COVID-19, we all deserve these kinds of celebrations.

Nebraska fairs by date

Date Fair Name Location

July

July 6-11 Madison County Fair Madison

July 6-12 Fillmore County Fair Geneva

July 7-10 Clay County Fair Clay Center

July 7-11 Franklin County Fair Franklin

July 7-11 Platte County Fair Columbus

July 10-14 Boone County Fair Albion

July 10-15 Nuckolls County Fair Nelson

July 12-17 Furnas County Fair Beaver City

July 13-18 Butler County Fair David City

July 13-18 Hitchcock County Fair Culbertson

July 13-19 Saline County Fair Crete

July 14-18 Adams County Fair Hastings

July 14-18 Cedar County Fair Hartington

July 14-18 Jefferson County Fair Fairbury

July 15-18 Colfax County Fair Leigh

July 15-19 ` Dawson County Fair Lexington

July 16-18 Douglas County Fair Omaha

July 16-20 Burt County Fair Oakland

July 17-21 Howard County Fair St. Paul

July 17-24 Morrill County Fair Bridgeport

July 19-24 Perkins County Fair Grant

July 20-25 Thomas County Fair Thedford

July 21-25 Dundy County Fair Benkelman

July 21-25 Hall County Fair Grand Island

July 21-25 Lincoln County Fair North Platte

July 21-25 Polk County Fair Osceola

July 21-27 Buffalo County Fair Kearney

July 22-24 Webster County Fair Bladen

July 22-25 Otoe County Fair Syracuse

July 22-25 Wayne County Fair Wayne

July 22-26 Red Willow County Fair McCook

July 23-25 Nance County Fair Fullerton

July 23-Aug. 1 Sheridan County Fair Gordon

July 24-28 Sherman County Fair Loup City

July 25-29 Phelps County Fair Holdrege

July 25-31 Cheyenne County Fair Sidney

July 25-Aug. 1 Saunders County Fair Wahoo

July 26-Aug. 1 Hamilton County Fair Aurora

July 27-29 Blaine County Fair Dunning

July 28-31 Boyd County Fair Spencer

July 28-31 Garfield County Fair Burwell

July 28-31 Gosper County Fair Elwood

July 28-31 Pawnee County Fair Pawnee City

July 28-Aug. 1 Gage County Fair Beatrice

July 28-Aug. 1 Pierce County Fair Pierce

July 29-Aug. 1 Dixon County Fair Concord

July 29-Aug. 7 Lancaster County Fair Lincoln

July 30-Aug. 8 Sioux County Fair Harrison

July 30-Aug. 7 Dawes County Fair Chadron

July 30-Aug. 5 Custer County Fair Broken Bow

July 31-Aug. 4 Merrick County Fair Central City

July 31-Aug. 4 Washington County Fair Arlington

July 31-Aug. 6 Hayes County Fair Hayes Center

July 31-Aug. 7 Scottsbluff County Fair Mitchell

July 31-Aug. 8 Hooker County Fair Mullen

August

Aug. 1-6 Harlan County Fair Orleans

Aug. 1-7 Eustis Fair and Corn Show Eustis

Aug. 1-7 Valley County Fair Ord

Aug. 1-8 Dakota/Thurston County Fair South Sioux City

Aug. 1-9 Box Butte County Fair Hemingford

Aug. 2-8 Antelope County Fair Neligh

Aug. 3-8 ` Wheeler County Fair Bartlett

Aug. 3-9 Kimball/Banner County Fair Kimball

Aug. 4-7 Rock County Fair Bassett

Aug. 4-8 Dodge County Fair Scribner

Aug. 4-8 Garden County Fair Lewellen

Aug. 4-8 Keith County Fair Ogallala

Aug. 4-8 Sarpy County Fair Springfield

Aug. 4-8 Seward County Fair Seward

Aug. 4-8 Stanton County Fair Stanton

Aug. 5-8 Frontier County Fair Stockville

Aug. 5-8 York County Fair York

Aug. 6-9 Kearney County Fair Minden

Aug. 8-15 Chase County Fair and Expo Imperial

Aug. 9-11 Greeley County Fair Spalding

Aug. 9-15 Arthur County Fair Arthur

Aug. 9-15 Cherry County Fair Valentine

Aug. 10-14 Holt County Fair Chambers

Aug. 11-14 Cass County Fair Weeping Water

Aug. 11-14 Loup County Fair Taylor

Aug. 11-14 McPherson County Fair Tryon

Aug. 11-14 Thayer County Fair Deschler

Aug. 12-15 Cuming County Fair West Point

Aug. 12-14 Deuel County Fair Chappell

Aug. 12-15 Knox County Fair Bloomfield

Aug. 12-15 Grant County Fair Hyannis

Aug. 15-18 Nemaha County Fair Auburn

Aug. 19-22 Logan County Fair Stapleton

Aug. 20-22 Johnson County Fair Tecumseh

Aug. 20-22 Keya Paha County Fair Springview

Aug. 27-Sept. 6 Nebraska State Fair Grand Island

September

Sept. 3-6 Brown County Fair Johnstown

Sept. 15-18 Richardson County Fair Humboldt

Note that dates and schedules occasionally change, so check with local sources for more information.

About the Author(s)

Curt Arens

Editor, Nebraska Farmer

Curt Arens began writing about Nebraska’s farm families when he was in high school. Before joining Farm Progress as a field editor in April 2010, he had worked as a freelance farm writer for 27 years, first for newspapers and then for farm magazines, including Nebraska Farmer.

His real full-time career, however, during that same period was farming his family’s fourth generation land in northeast Nebraska. He also operated his Christmas tree farm and grew black oil sunflowers for wild birdseed. Curt continues to raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa and runs a cow-calf herd.

Curt and his wife Donna have four children, Lauren, Taylor, Zachary and Benjamin. They are active in their church and St. Rose School in Crofton, where Donna teaches and their children attend classes.

Previously, the 1986 University of Nebraska animal science graduate wrote a weekly rural life column, developed a farm radio program and wrote books about farm direct marketing and farmers markets. He received media honors from the Nebraska Forest Service, Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Nebraska Experimental Farm Association.

He wrote about the spiritual side of farming in his 2008 book, “Down to Earth: Celebrating a Blessed Life on the Land,” garnering a Catholic Press Association award.

See more from Curt Arens

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