The Elkhart County 4-H Fair takes place every year in Goshen, Indiana and is one of the biggest county fairs in the US. In 2017, more than 200 thousand guests visited the Fair during the nine-day event. The Elkhart County 4-H Fair is famous for its free concerts and grandstand entertainment. More than four thousand Elkhart county youth are involved in 4-H, which displays over eight thousand projects at the Fair every year.
The 4-H Fair Week Grandstand Events
- The first Friday of the Fair is when it is officially opened with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting event. After the inauguration, the annual cheerleading contest is conducted in the afternoon, with local middle schools, gyms and high schools competing for the grand prize. The Senior Queen Contest is conducted on the Main Stage later on in the evening. The evening is wrapped up with the Elkhart County 4-H Fair Queen Contest, where fifty young women compete for the prestigious title.
- On Saturday, the Harness racing is conducted in the early hours of the afternoon, and the evening is wrapped up with a concert from a popular singing band, artist or group.
- On Sunday, also referred to as Family Day, no admission fee is charged to the visitors. The popular Elkhart County 4-H Fair Parade takes place on the grandstands in the afternoon. The parade’s highlight is the “parade 5000”, which involves hundreds of Indiana’s runners coming here to win. Later in the evening, a popular Christian singing group or band arrives to play at the grandstands.
- On Monday, Harness racing takes place for most of the day, and the day ends with another famous singing group, artist or band.
- On Tuesday, referred to as Senior Citizens Day, even more Harness racing takes place for most of the day and once again, the day ends with a performance from a popular group, band, or artist.
- On Wednesday, referred to as Kid’s Day, the grandstands do not feature many events until a popular singing group, band or artist performs in the evening.
- On Thursday, a Tractor competition takes place all day long, featuring various tractors, including Lucas Oil PPL Tractors and antique tractors.
- On Friday, a rodeo event takes place for the entire length of the day, with a second rodeo event taking place on the same evening. In between the two rodeos, the annual horse pulling competition takes place in the early evening.
- On Saturday, which is the last day of the Elkhart County 4-H Fair, the classic car cruise-in is held in the infield during the day, with the Demolition Derby ending the Fair.
There are approximately six-hundred volunteers for the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. All the people on the fair board are volunteers, and sometimes they even take a week’s vacation to volunteer their time for the event.
