The ninth annual Good Ol’ Truck & Tractor Pull and Carnival is set for Friday and Saturday, Aug. 23-24, at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 10349 Business 21, in Hillsboro.
This year’s truck and tractor pull will introduce a new category for semi trucks, said event chairman Mike Daugherty, president of the Hillsboro Community Civic Club, which sponsors the event.
“These are 3,000-, 4,000-horsepower trucks,” Daugherty said. “They have their own class. It’s the first time we’ve ever had this. The semis will be on display so everyone can see them (before the pull).
“This is in addition to the (usual) trucks and tractors.”
The carnival will be held both days, starting at 5 p.m. Aug. 23 and 4 p.m. Aug. 24 at the fairgrounds.
The truck and tractor pull will start at 6 p.m. Aug. 24, also at the fairgrounds. The contestant gate opens at 3 p.m.
Daugherty said anyone who has an appropriate vehicle to enter to compete in the truck and tractor pull is able to enter, which is unlike the truck and tractor pull held each year at the Jefferson County Fair.
“Anyone can enter a vehicle that can hitch to a sled (in the Good Ol’ Truck & Tractor Pull),” he said. “The whole idea for doing this is to let local people have a chance.”
The sanctioned pull at the Jefferson County Fair, on the other hand, is only for people sanctioned by the Mid Missouri Truck and Tractor Pulling Association and the Eastern Missouri Truck Pullers, he said.
Admission is free for the carnival on Aug. 23, but a $10 entry fee will be charged on Aug. 24 for those 11 and older. In addition to young children, those active with or retired from the military (with a proper ID), will be admitted for free.
It cost another $20 to participate in one of the pulls.
The carnival was added to the truck and tractor pull last year and went over well, Daugherty said.
“There are carnival rides and games,” he said. “We’ll have food vendors, drink vendors.”
Unlimited ride wristbands, which are good for one evening, will cost $25 on Aug. 23 and $30 on Aug. 24. A single ticket either night costs $1 or a sheet of 24 tickets costs $20. Each ride takes between three and five tickets.
The event also will include live music.
“The Johnathan Braddy Band plays at 9 p.m. (Aug. 24) at the RMZ Pavilion,” Daugherty said. “That’s a very popular band.”
He said the civic club works to make the event an economical form of entertainment for local families.
The civic club will use proceeds from the event to take care of the fairgrounds and hold other community events, Daugherty said.
In addition, the club will share part of the proceeds with the BackStoppers group, which supports the families of emergency responders who are killed or seriously injured in the line of duty, he added.
Daugherty said the 2023 version drew about 6,000 people.
“It’s a really great time,” he said.
For more information, call the Civic Club office at 636-789-2600, visit jeffersoncountyfair.net or go to the Hillsboro Community Civic Club Facebook page.