This is a very busy, but also very fun, time of year. It’s festival season, which means that there is a ton of work to be done on our part to cover all of the events scheduled to take place between now and the next 7-8 weeks.
It is work, yes, but it’s also the kind of work that I don’t really mind doing.
Last week, I was down at the Whitley County Fairgrounds for three-of-the-four days of the 2025 Whitley County Fair. Wednesday, opening day, was the only day that I missed completely.
On Thursday, I took my daughter, Olivia, with me to check out what this year’s fair had to offer. The first thing that I noticed right away was the greatly improved entry/exit area off of Savoy-Clear Creek Road. Parking was also improved, so I was pleased with those developments.
Upon entering the fairgrounds, I was super-impressed with the brand-new open-air structure that was completed earlier this year. This was my first chance to personally see it up close. It’s pretty massive, and is a real gamechanger when it comes to hosting events such as horse shows. Again, another great development from last year to this year.
My daughter couldn’t wait to play on the inflatable water slides once we made it to the fair. I had some concerns about her ability to do so considering her left arm is currently encased in a hard cast (she broke a bone in an unfortunate mishap at home about a month ago), but she didn’t let it slow her down one bit. I put a protective plastic sleeve over the cast, and she did her thing like nothing was wrong. It was great to see.
After watching some of the demolition derby action Thursday evening, we headed home and I got ready to return to the fairgrounds on Friday.
When I came back the next day, I caught up with County Judge Executive Pat White, Jr. He was juggling about 12 things at once, but he made some time to chat with me about a few topics that you can learn more about by reading the report elsewhere in this week’s paper.
After our chat, I hung around for a bit to get some photos of the horse show. There was a big crowd, as usual, and a lot of very beautiful animals were on display. There was also a greasy pig catching contest for the kids later that evening. I didn’t make it to see that in person, but Judge White was kind enough to send me some photos that he took. It looked like a real spectacle, to say the least.
Saturday was a bit of a mixed bag. I took my daughter back with me, as she was ready for some more water sliding action. It was extremely hot, though, and we were roasting as we waited for the annual mud bog competitions to get underway. I forgot about the heat once the mud finally started flying, though. This particular event was probably my favorite of the whole fair to shoot pictures of. Managing News Editor Mark White is typically the one capturing mud bog images for our paper, but I was glad that I got the chance to do it this time around. I posted a few of the shots to our Facebook page Sunday morning, and you can see one-or-two more here in this week’s edition.
After more water sliding, a couple of fresh cheeseburgers from the Whitley County Cattleman’s Association tent, and purchasing a crochet rat from one of the craft vendors for Olivia, we thought it was time to check out the big hot air balloons. Unfortunately, the balloons did not get off the ground this year. This was definitely a bummer, but my understanding is that there were some safety concerns related to strong wind gusts that were occurring above the tree line. Better safe than sorry, I suppose, but I hate that folks didn’t get the chance to go for a ride. I also hate that I missed out on that particular photo op…
At any rate, we hung around for just a little while longer to hear a couple of songs by Trey Bryant, and then we tapped out. I hated to miss the fireworks display that was scheduled for just after dark Saturday, but it had been a long day and we were both beat.
Overall, it was another great Whitley County Fair this year. I appreciate everyone’s efforts in putting on the event for the local community, as always. It takes a ton of hard work behind the scenes to make something like this happen, so thank you again to all who were involved.
To look ahead for a moment, I would like to encourage folks to make their way to downtown Williamsburg this Saturday evening, July 26, if you are able, for the Second Annual Honey Festival. The festival is scheduled to take place from 5-9 p.m. at the Green Space on Main, and will feature free live music, craft vendors, homemade food items, and the main attraction – locally sourced honey harvested by local beekeepers. I stopped by the inaugural event last year, and was really impressed. I look forward to checking it out again this weekend.
Finally, this year’s NIBROC and Old Fashioned Trading Days festivals are just around the corner. NIBROC will take place between Aug. 6-9 in downtown Corbin, while Old Fashioned Trading Days will be Sept. 4-6 in downtown Williamsburg. We will have plenty more information on both of these annual events very soon, so stay tuned.
As I said, covering all of these events is technically work, but it’s also a lot of fun. Make plans to attend the Honey Festival, NIBROC, and Old Fashioned Trading Days. See you there!
