Attendance was good for the 79th annual Jefferson County Fair, even though the first night was rained out, said Mike Daugherty, the Fair co-chair.
The event was held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Hillsboro and had been scheduled for July 17-20. After the cancellation of activities on July 17, all went smoothly, he said.
“It went great,” Daugherty said. “We had great crowds Friday through Sunday. I’d say we drew (a total of) 22,000 or 23,000 people over the other three days.
“There was rain Thursday. We did not have any activities that night because of parking on the grass field (in front of the Fairgrounds). It was a safety issue.”
He said some Fair attractions, like a motocross event scheduled for July 17, were moved to July 18. Musician Scotty Kemp performed July 18 as scheduled, but his two scheduled performances on July 17 were canceled.
In addition to live music and motor sports, including a tractor pull and demolition derby, the Fair included carnival rides, vendor booths, children’s events and more. Pig races were held each day.
Other live performers over the three days included featured act Tyler Farr, Ward Davis, the Lick Creek band, the Borderline band, Bill Scott, Dawn Turlington, 90 Proof Acoustic and Selena Robertson.
“They all were great,” Daugherty said.
As usual, the Fair included a cattle show and auction sponsored by the Jefferson County 4H Club and the Missouri Junior Cattlemen’s Association. The livestock show and auction included sheep and lambs, along with the cattle, he said.
Daugherty said Monday that he did not know yet how much money the Fair had raised.
“(The Hillsboro Community Civic Club) uses the money raised from the Fair to put toward the next Fair; for grounds management and improvements; and to donate to other community organizations,” he said.
The 2026 Jefferson County Fair is scheduled for July 16-19, Dougherty said.
“We want to thank everybody for coming and being patient with us because the grounds were still wet on Friday night after the rain Thursday,” he said.
Click to see more pictures from the event:
