A juggling comic, lumberjacks and sharks are among the entertainment highlights announced for this year’s Saratoga County Fair, to be held July 17-22 at the fairground on Prospect Street.
The 171st annual county fair, traditionally the first of the season in the Capital Region, draws 70,000 to 80,000 people to see and perhaps learn from conservation exhibits, farm animals and entertainment acts.
The entertainment lineup this year includes Matt Baker, a comic who does mouth-juggling and vegetable spearing. Baker was voted Seattle’s funniest prop comic, and this is the first time he has performed at a fair on the East Coast, fair officials said.
The Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show is also new this year. They have lumberjacks who compete in several events, including log rolling, chopping, crosscut sawing, axe throwing, hot saw competition and tree climbing.
There will also be a live shark encounter show.
“One look into the eyes of a live shark and you know the heart-pounding awe and fascination experienced by our visitors,” fair officials said in their announcement. “Their legacy has been as misunderstood as it has been ‘old and bloody.’ Now more than ever the importance of understanding this fascinating species is critical for its survival.”
Returning favorites will include chain saw-carving artist Brian Ruth, Rosaire’s Royal Racing Pigs, the Firefighter Training Show and the R.W. Commerford & Sons Petting Zoo.
Grandstand events will include demolition derbies Tuesday and Sunday; tractor pulls Wednesday; and rodeos Thursday and Friday. Saturday will feature four-wheel-drive truck pulls.
Amusements of America will again provide the midway rides. “Pay One Price Rides” hand stamps will be available every day for $20 and are good from noon to midnight.
Pageants include the Saratoga County Fair Pageant, the County Miss & Lady of the Fair contests and the Start to Star talent contest.
There will be music nightly in the Live Music Pavilion (formerly known as the Beer Garden), where guests must be 21 or older, with proof of age, to enter. Bands will include J. Collins on Tuesday, Skeeter Creek on Wednesday, Lost Cantina with special guest Chelsea Cavanaugh on Thursday, Gravity on Friday, The Audiostars on Saturday, and Rattail Jimmy on Sunday.
There will also be agriculture departments and exhibits, including cattle, draft and saddle horses, goats, bees and honey, farm produce, flowers, culinary, home arts, fine arts, antiques, education, Grange and conservation area activities, including outdoor cooking demonstrations.
But that won’t be the only food. French fry, bloomin’ onion, pizza, sausage and hot dog vendors will also be spread around the grounds, and nearly all will also be offering cold drinks to hot and thirsty fairgoers.
The fair is open 9 a.m. to midnight daily, with the midway open noon to midnight daily, and noon to 11 p.m. Sunday. General admission is $10 each day, with special gate premiums being offered Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Parking in all fair-managed lots is free.
The admission price Tuesday includes an insulated cooler sponsored in part by The Gazette Newspapers; on Wednesday, the premium is a sports bottle; and Thursday’s premium is a small backpack.
Wednesday is also $4 admission for senior citizens over age 65 until 5 p.m.
Admission all week is free to active-duty military members and children under 52 inches tall. Season tickets are $30.
For more information, visit www.saratogacountyfair.org, and the fair also has a Facebook page. The fair office phone number is 885-9701.
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