By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
Extreme heat and a bit of rain notwithstanding, the 135th Adams County Fair is in the books and by all accounts was yet another successful week, running from July 12-18.
The action kicked off on July 12, highlighted by the return of the Grand Parade and then the crowning of the 2026 Junior Fair King and Queen, Diesel Ferguson and Vivian Grimes, who were visible all week at various fair activities, usually in the Junior Fair Show Arena. The Show Arena, as it is every fair week, was the hub of activity as happy and sad came together as the young 4-H exhibitors showed their animals all week and then saw some of them depart after the sales on Friday and Saturday. Calves, lambs, goats, swine, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, steers- all took their place as young people showed the fruits of their year of labor and preparation for their big moment.
“What a great week at the fair!”, exclaimed Kristy Watters, Adams County 4-H Educator. “Thank you to everyone who helped make fair week such a success. Whether you volunteered your time, helped in the barn, sponsored an award, bought at the sale, worked behind the scenes, or cheered on exhibitors from the sidelines, your support means so much. It truly takes a team effort, and we’re lucky to have so many in our community willing to step up and help. Congratulations to all of our exhibitors! It is so rewarding to see young people succeed both inside and outside the ring. From early mornings and long days in the barn to project judging and showmanship, your hard work and dedication were on full display all week.”
“One of the best parts of fair week is seeing families, friends, and clubs come together to support one another. I love watching exhibitors help younger members, learn from each other, celebrate successes, and work through challenges together. Not everything always goes the way we hoped, but those moments help us grow, too. Thank you all for making this a great week. Get some well-deserved rest, enjoy the memories you’ve made, and be proud of everything you accomplished. We’re already looking forward to next year!”
Opening night was also highlighted by the annual cheerleading competition, which was a victim of the weather as a sudden and steady downpour forced the competition to be moved indoors to West Union High School, where Peebles High School came out on top in the High School division, West Union first in Junior High and Peebles first in Pee Wee. The opening night of the fair also saw the demolition derby battle some muddy conditions but still entertain a capacity crowd. The final derby of this year’s fair would be held two nights later.
Monday at the fair was highlighted by the always popular Day in the Ring, along with a wrestling show in the center ring and the rodeo in the Tom White Motorsports Complex. The Motorsports Complex held numerous events during the week and Brad White, the 2025 Outstanding Fair supporter, was right there in the crow’s nest for many of them.
” The derbies on Sunday and Tuesday went great, with capacity crowds staying right to the last hit,” said White. “The rodeo was great family fun action and if you missed it, you missed a good one. The bulls, broncs, and barrel racing. We had a really neat tug pull on Wednesday night and the last three nights brought some high horsepower action as the Sullivan Pulling Series came into town with the Battle of the Bluegrass on Saturday night. The track was always prepared flawlessly by the crew and we appreciate all their hard work.”
“It really was a great action-packed week and things went really well and thank you to everyone who participated and helped out.”
There was entertainment in the center ring all week, including the Adams County Talent Show, Dusty & Backwoods Drive, the Jason Cooper Memorial Cooper, Matthew Griffis and Makinlee Stevenson and the Cincinnati Circus. Shade Tree Park hosted numerous nature programs and provided fairgoers much needed respite for the 100 degree heat indexes.
“Don’t rub off the soap! Don’t throw the piggies!” Those phrases were heard on the final night of the fair at the very entertaining Livestock Scramble, where youngsters of all ages and a few adults, lathered up and then chased a variety of farm animals around the show ring, vying for some very nice cash prizes. The Defender is proud to report that no injuries were reported from the mayhem.
The 2026 fair was the first as Senior Fair Board President for Brock Pistole, who left his first week in charge happy with the outcome.
“We had a great week at the 2026 Adams County Fair,” said Pistole after what surely was an exhausting week. “We survived the heat and a couple of heavy rain showers that we’ve all come to expect during fair week. The new traffic patterns and parking areas worked out well especially as the week went on and people understood what we were trying to do, I think it was definitely a step in the right direction of relieving congestion and keeping pedestrians safer.”
“Attendance was very good all week, I believe the rain may have scared a few people off on Saturday evening, but all in all I would consider the week a success. The weather caused us to make a last minute decision on Sunday to move the cheerleading competition to West Union High School due to the rain, but everyone stepped up and scrambled to make it happen, big thanks to our directors and WUHS administration for all their work to pull it off.”
“As first year president of the Fair Board it was a little bit overwhelming at times trying to watch weather and make sure everything was setup and ready to go each day, but we have a great group of directors and community volunteers who stepped up each day and did whatever needed done so I’d like to say a big thank you to each and everyone of them for all of their hard work and support,” Pistole continued.
“I would also like to thank all of our sponsors, we have an amazing community full of individuals and businesses who support the fair board and the Junior Fair, they are the ones who make a successful fair possible. I believe the Junior Fair sales were near record high totals as well so we definitely appreciate all of the support of everyone who came through our gates. We are already looking forward to making improvements for 2027!”
Another new addition to this year’s fair was the Adams County Fair app, developed by Anthony Goddard for phones, which helped people with schedules, maps, and allowed fairgoers to share their photos. Also, if you missed any of the fair, C103 and GoodGuysRadio TV were on hand for everything and you can go back and watch their coverage on their social media pages and You Tube.