This year, the Perry County Fair will feature several new attractions along with returning favorites.
The event schedule for the 2022 Perry County Fair was recently announced. Each year during the fair, people in attendance are able to enjoy free events, activities and music, in addition to multiple food vendors and locally made crafts.
Local officials said they are glad to bring the fair back for the community and for surrounding areas to enjoy after two years of not having the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re just so excited to be able to bring the fair back. We love to have things going on in our community for the citizens,” said Perry County Judge-Executive Scott Alexander. “The fair is a great family oriented event. We encourage not only Perry County, but all surrounding counties or anyone else to come out and have a great time with their family,” he said.
“COVID is still here, but we know how to handle it and we know how to be safe and people know the precautions to take with COVID,” Alexander said.
This year, the fair will feature several new attractions for the community to enjoy, as well as returning favorites from previous years. Among the activities listed on the event schedule, are: the X-Pogo stunt show; Aussie Kingdom; Gamerz Truck; Cowtown USA; a Cruize In; a hot air balloon; a youth livestock show; a quilt display; duck races (cash prize); a nightly cornhole tourney (cash prize); Appalachian Mountain Wrestling; remote control car races; a trackless train; yard games; hiking; the Perry County Pool; miniature golf; and more.
New attractions
Fair organizers said they are happy to welcome several new attractions to this year’s event schedule.
One of the new attractions, Gamerz Truck, will be popular with gamers and youth. The Gamerz Truck is a mobile gaming theater that has a luxurious limo-style interior with comfortable stadium-style seating. Regardless of the weather outside, people will be able to enjoy this new addition, because it’s fully air conditioned and inside. Laser lights change colors throughout the gaming experience. With four 55-inch screens and one 60-inch screen inside the truck, as well as two screens outside so players can enjoy dancing/sports games such as “Just Dance 4” and “Wii Sports Resort,” there’s something for everyone, said fair organizers. This attraction will offer the best game consoles and plenty of wireless controllers for PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Wii and Wii U.
The Trackless Train is another new addition to this year’s fair. This is a two-car train that will haul individuals from one end of the park to the other. Loading sites will be marked, but the train will basically run from the pool area to the skateboard park area.
The Perry County Fair Board of Directors said they are dedicated to providing entertainment that many people from our area might never be able to see otherwise, so they try to look for exciting, fun acts offered by companies of good character. This year, board members said, their search led them to the Aussie Kingdom, an educational exhibit and animal demonstration that will bring a touch of “down under” to Perry County. During this event, fair goers will see kangaroos, wallabies and walleroos, as well as other native Australian wildlife. They will present interesting facts about the different species of kangaroos and wallabies, along with native Australian birds such as the kookaburra and rainbow lorikeet.
Aussie Kingdom Owner Carolyn Lantz said she passionately believes in creating opportunities for people to connect with these animals on a personal level. “We’re more likely to preserve and protect what we know” said Lantz, speaking of her work with the creatures of Aussie Kingdom. Lantz said she has gained this perspective after more than 26 years of animal handling and stage management as president of Noah’s Ark, a traveling petting zoo of farm animals; and Turtleville, a live production featuring turtles and tortoises.
“I’ve worked with kids and adults who’ve never interacted with animals and treat them like toys at first,” Lantz said. “By modeling gentleness and respect, our guests learn to appreciate each animal’s special qualities,” she said.
All the animals in Aussie Kingdom will be on display throughout the day for everyone to enjoy their wonderful antics at play.
The X-Pogo Stunt Show, another new attraction, features an extreme pogo performance team that will be jumping over nine feet in the air on next-generation pogo sticks while throwing down flips and incredible tricks. The X-Pogo Stunt Team athletes will keep the crowd engaged until the final bounce, said fair organizers. The group has headlined in 17 countries, appeared in numerous TV shows, music videos, commercials and movies. Collectively, they hold 13 different Guinness World Records.
This year’s fair will also feature the addition of the Perry County Fair Yard Games. “We wanted to add something new to our fair this year and make it reminiscent of years gone by so we decided that we would add some activities that are just good, clean fun for everyone,” said fair board members. These games will include: ladder bolo ball, Connect 4, tic-tac-toe games and other games that people can play at their leisure. People can check out the equipment to play at the information booth.
Cowtown USA is a museum exhibit that contains an old-time creamery where patrons participate in preparing a cow for milking by hand or machine and pasteurizing for a finished product. Through their demonstrations they show that agriculture has no barriers. Kids will get hands-on experiences with the process of making butter and ice cream using historic tools and machines in these processes, and they learn the concept of “Home Made.” There are also animals to pet and pony rides are available for a $5 fee (one of the few activities at the fair for which there is a charge). But you can still watch the show and pet the animals without paying a penny, said organizers.
Returning attractions
The fair will also feature several returning attractions that were enjoyed at fairs in previous years.
One of the returning attractions is the Battle of Leatherwood Camp. The camp will not actually be re-enacting the Battle of Leatherwood during the fair, but the actors will give visitors a sense of what it might have been like during the days of the Civil War, and will have a small camp set up to provide an example of a soldiers’ day-to-day camp life, including how they dressed and their daily tasks.
The RE/Max Hot Air Balloon will also be returning this year, weather permitting. This, said fair organizers, is one of the most recognized corporate symbols on the planet and understandably so. At seven stories tall, the RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon grabs attention wherever it flies, they said. Free tethered rides will give people a great view of the Perry County Fair. This is currently scheduled to take place on Saturday evening, beginning at 6 p.m., weather permitting, until the pilot runs out of fuel, in the field below the softball field (near the Tourism building on the hill across from the pool).
The Cruize In is another returning event. Every year since its inception, the fair has hosted a Cruize In, inviting anyone in the area to bring in their classic cars and trucks to display to the public. On Thursday, June 16, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., come and check out some of the sharpest rides in this area. There will be no prizes, just bragging rights.
Hiking and the trails are also going to be available during the fair. The Pathfinders will hold their annual Fair hike at 6 p.m. on Friday evening, June 17.
There will also be multiple food and craft booths and vendors set up throughout the fair as well.
Music
The Friday night music lineup includes Keith Anderson, Chad Warrix and Taylor Austin Dye. Saturday night music will be performed by Midlife Crisis.
For more information about the events and attractions, visit, perrycountykyfair.com.
The full event schedule is:
Thursday, June 16: 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
• 4 p.m. The gates will open to the public; the shuttles will begin to run; there will be a quilt display at the Senior Citizen’s Center and Gamerz Truck will be open.
• 4:30 p.m. Aussie Kingdom
• 5 p.m. X-Pogo Stunt Team; Cruize In
• 5:30 p.m. Cowtown USA
• 6 p.m. Opening Ceremony; Cornhole Tournament
• 6:30 p.m. Aussie Kingdom
• 7 p.m. X-Pogo Stunt Team
• 7:30 p.m. Cowtown USA
• 8 p.m. Appalachian Mountain Wrestling
• 8:30 p.m. Aussie Kingdom
• 9 p.m. X-Pogo Stunt Team
• 9:30 p.m. Cowtown USA
• 10 p.m. Close of the fair
• 10:30 p.m. Shuttle Runs End
Friday, June 17: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• 4 p.m. The gates will open to the public; the shuttles will begin to run; there will be a quilt display at the Senior Citizen’s Center and Gamerz Truck will be open.
• 4:30 p.m. Aussie Kingdom
• 5 p.m. X-Pogo Stunt Team; Cruize In
• 5:30 p.m. Cowtown USA
• 6 p.m. Pathfinders Perry County Park Hike; Cornhole Tournament; Bill Dixon Extreme Yamaha Show
• 6:30 p.m. Aussie Kingdom
• 7 p.m. X-Pogo Stunt Team
• 7:30 p.m. Cowtown USA
• 8 p.m. Taylor Austin Dye, Chad Warrix and Keith Anderson Concert
• 8:30 p.m. Aussie Kingdom
• 9 p.m. X-Pogo Stunt Team
• 9:30 p.m. Cowtown USA
• 10 p.m. Close of the fair
• 10:30 p.m. Shuttle Runs End
Saturday, June 18: 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• 10:30 a.m. Gates open to the public for RC Racing only; Steak and Shake Nitro vs. Electric Remote Control Car Challenge
• Noon The gates will open to the public; the shuttles will begin to run; there will be a quilt display at the Senior Citizen’s Center and Gamerz Truck will be open.
• 1:30 p.m. Cowtown USA
• 2 p.m. Duck Race
• 2:30 p.m. X-Pogo Stunt Team
• 3 p.m. Aussie Kingdom
• 4:30 p.m. Cowtown USA
• 5 p.m. X-Pogo Stunt Team
• 5:30 p.m. Aussie Kingdom
• 6 p.m. Cornhole Tournament; RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon Rides (weather permitting)
• 7:30 p.m. Cowtown USA
• 8 p.m. Midlife Crisis Concert
• 8:30 p.m. X-Pogo Stunt Team
• 9 p.m. Aussie Kingdom
• 10 p.m. Close
• 10:30 p.m. Shuttle Runs End
