The 174th Champaign County Fair’s opening weekend will feature the ever-popular truck pull and Fair Queen crowning.

Visitors to this year’s fair should bring the sunscreen. The weather is predicted to be in the 80s with lots of sunshine, according to Accuweather.com. Some humidity is expected Sunday. The weather for next week should range from 76 to 82 degrees, with an occasional thunderstorm.

The weekend promises to be a fun one following the performance by Josh Turner and Drew Baldridge, which was scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m. As of 8:45 p.m., however, the concert start was running behind schedule as the line of ticket holders wound through the midway and to the Park Avenue gate waiting for admission to the grandstand.

Saturday features the ever-popular antique and mini-mod tractor pulls at 3 p.m. and the truck pull at 7 p.m., both at the grandstand.

Sunday will feature the crowning of the 2015 Junior Fair Queen, announcement of the 4-H Boy and Girl of the Year and FFA Boy and Girl of the Year, all at 6:30 p.m. The pig and calf scrambles will follow. The post time for harness racing is 1:30 p.m. Sunday; there will be post times for harness racing also at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

There will be livestock showing and judging, produce and pies, and a variety of entertainment options.

The number of livestock entries are up this year, said Ohio State University 4-H Extension Educator and County Director Melinda Morrison. Just a quick tally of entries on opening day Friday indicated approximately 850 total swine, 183 lambs, 190 goats, 65 beef steer, 130 dairy feeders, 21 beef feeders, nine llamas and about 160 horses, she said. She did not have entries yet on rabbits. These numbers are only for Junior Fair entries; Morrison did not have data on open class entries.

Poultry is being done differently this year because of the avian flu virus. Though poultry sales will not occur and youths will not show their animals, there will be several poultry activities for them to participate in and demonstrate their knowledge, she said.

Last year saw a pig virus that decimated piglets, which changed weigh-in procedures at the county fair to protect livestock, Morrison said. This year, it appears pigs are doing well, and no special procedures were needed dealing with swine.

“One of the biggest draws for the fair is swine,” she said.

For more information, visit champaigncountyfair.com.

Ticket holders to Friday night’s Josh Turner concert wait in a long line along the midway at the fair. The line formed at the grandstand entry gate and snaked through the fairgrounds and back around to the Lot D grandstand parking area near Park Avenue. General admission and reserve ticket holders alike were standing in the line. The concert was slated to start at 8 p.m. but there was no indication it would start prior to 9 p.m.

https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2015/08/web1_line.jpgTicket holders to Friday night’s Josh Turner concert wait in a long line along the midway at the fair. The line formed at the grandstand entry gate and snaked through the fairgrounds and back around to the Lot D grandstand parking area near Park Avenue. General admission and reserve ticket holders alike were standing in the line. The concert was slated to start at 8 p.m. but there was no indication it would start prior to 9 p.m.