It’s time to show “Farmer Pride County Wide” at the Orange County Fair.
The longstanding fair will bring entertainment, animals and more to the county Wednesday through Saturday, June 24-27. The action unofficially kicks off Friday, June 19 with the two-day “Thunder in Orange” truck and tractor pull held at the fairgrounds on the Wise Services and Recycling Track with proceeds benefitting the fair association. Gates open at 6 p.m. with pulling to begin at 7 p.m. Pulling classes are divided among the two days with Friday featuring the 6,200 Sportsman FWD, 5,200 V8 Classic Modified, 8,000 Light Limited Pro Stock, 12,000 Hot Stock and 6,200 Outlaw FWD classes. Saturday features the Super Modified TWD, 6,200 National 4×4, 10,000 Super Pro Farm, 12,000 Hot Stock, 11,000 Altered Farm, Hot Street Diesel and 15,000 Farm classes. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, but bleachers are available. There will be food trucks on-site; bottles are prohibited. Tickets are $15; Friday and $20 Saturday, or $30 for both. Kids ages 9 and under are free.
The pull is a great warm-up for the fair action that begins Wednesday. As always, the fair aims to appeal to all ages with dozens of 4-Hers showing off their animals, a draft and mule horse pull, an antique tractor pull, dirt drags, the demolition derby and more. Children will enjoy a variety of bounce houses and a barrel train daily, along with a play area in the shade. The barrel train was built by Swaby Academy, a new welding academy located in the Town of Orange. Pony rides will be available Friday and Saturday.
Returning this year is magician Jay Mattioli with his Electrifying Magic show. The show tours fairs throughout the country and was a hit with audiences of all ages last year. Mattioli will offer daily performances. Also occurring daily will be the new reptile petting zoo, mechanical bull rides and book readings from OC Books and Beyond.
The exhibit hall will feature entries from locals in everything from produce and food preparation and preservation to sewing, home furnishings, arts and crafts, flowers and photography. Entries are split into age divisions–4 and under, 5-8, 9-14, 15-19, 20-59, 60-79, 80+ and special citizens or those with a disability. Pre-registration into the exhibit hall competitions is not required; completed forms and goods can be dropped off Monday and Tuesday, June 22-23, 5-7 p.m. with entries in the food preparation, garden produce and flowers and plants departments are not accepted Monday, but will be accepted Wednesday 7-9 a.m.. Entries in all departments can be dropped off Tuesday. Youth ages 19 and under who submit 12 or more entries will receive a free day pass to enter the fair. Entries are open to residents of Virginia only and can consist of only one entry per exhibitor per class. Judging will take place Wednesday, June 24, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For complete rules and the entry form, visit https://orangecountyfairva.com/county-fair. Exhibits open to the public Wednesday at 3 p.m. and remain open daily until 9 p.m. Gates for the fair open at 3 p.m. daily except for Saturday.
Wednesday also marks the official start of the fair with the horse show and livestock skillathon at 3 p.m., the Cloverbud parade, rabbit and poultry show and Orange FFA hosted tractor driving competition at 5 p.m. and professional wrestling at 7 p.m. According to fair board treasurer and entertainment chair Jamie Lamb, both the competition and wrestling are new this year. The tractor contest has a $5 entry fee with cash prizes.
On Thursday, the sheep show will begin the festivities at 4 p.m. followed by a meet and greet with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office at 5:30 p.m., Cloverbud parade and the new Farmer’s Field Games at 6 p.m. followed by K-9 and drone demonstrations and the 7 p.m. hog show.
On Friday, the 4-H dairy cattle show will begin at 1 p.m., followed by the 4-H goat show at 3 p.m., the Cloverbud parade at 5 p.m. and the 4-H beef show at 6 p.m. Gymkhana, new this year, will be held at 5:30 p.m. with registration opening at 4 p.m. New event Cowgirl Up Line Dancing will begin at 6:30 p.m. A cornhole competition will start at 7 p.m.
The fair begins early Saturday with gates opening at 9 a.m. The bottle babies show will take place at 9 a.m. as well as a car, truck and motorcycle show. The antique tractor pull will begin at 10 a.m. An archery demonstration will also occur at 10 a.m. followed by a meat poultry presentation. A second archery demonstration will be held at 3 p.m. The Shoot’em Up Show will begin at noon with the pedal tractor race at 2 p.m., the mule show at 3 p.m. and the mule pull at 6 p.m. Registration for the buyers’ dinner will open at 4:30 p.m. with the dinner at 4:45 p.m. and the 4-H auction at 6 p.m. The demolition derby, a fair favorite, will begin at 7 p.m.
And don’t forget another fair favorite–food. According to Lamb, a variety of food options will be available including deep fried oreos, funnel cakes, hamburgers, hot dogs, lemonade and more.
“All your traditional finds and more,” he said. “Come hungry.”
This year’s fair features a lower ticket price. Wednesday night is community night sponsored by Madison Ford with free admission for all. Thursday and Friday admission tickets are $5 each and Saturday is $10. Senior tickets for those 70 and older are $5 and children 10 and under are free. A special fair week pass is available for $15. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-orange-county-fair or at the gate. Pets are prohibited other than service animals; the fair is rain or shine.
“We are slowly trying to bring back the nostalgic idea of a county fair,” Lamb said. “To do that, we need support by attending.”
For more information, visit https://orangecountyfairva.com/ or follow https://www.facebook.com/orangecountyfairassociation/ on Facebook.
