“There’s always something to do and work to be done in preparation,” said Heather Stewart, fair manager of the Webster County Fair. “There’s signs to be put up, 70 acres of mowing to be done, cleaning the indoor arena, setting up the parking. It will be busy right up until the doors open.”

Members of the Webster County Fair Board along with more than a dozen volunteers were on site Saturday for last-minute preparation work and planning.

“We’re painting right now,” said Stewart. “But there’s a lot more work that will be done between now and when the fair begins.”

According to Stewart, 4-Hers and FFA members also help with fair preparations by cleaning and setting up the barns that they’ll be using throughout the fair.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Webster County Fair Manager Heather Stewart works on taking some old games apart Saturday afternoon while working with volunteers to get the fairgrounds ready for the 2024 fair.

Vendors, along with the carnival rides, moved into the fairgrounds on Sunday evening, followed by campers who will stay for the duration of the fair.

“Once the carnival rides come in and figure out their setup and space for the week, then we go in and start setting up parking that we’ll need for the grandstand entertainment and the livestock shows,” said Stewart.

Grandstand entertainment for the week includes Figure Eight races on Wednesday, Demolition Derby on Thursday, ATV races and Tough Truck Races Friday, and the Webster County Truck Pull on Saturday evening.

Stewart and the fair board have also scheduled four days of free family-friendly entertainment, including Nature Nick’s Animal Adventures, The Steamers Thrill Show, Ken the Fire Ninja, and The Stingray Petting Zoo.

“I’m really excited for everyone to see the stingrays,” said Stewart. “They’re the main entertainment and an all-day attraction. They run for three hours and then they take a 30-minute break. You can feed them and touch them. They’re interactive, and I’m excited to see everyone interact with them.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Cody Condon, 5, of Clare, enjoys a little wet paintbrush tug-o'-war with Lilly Stewart, 15, of Harcourt, as they helped with sprucing up the Webster County Fairgrounds Saturday for the 2024 Webster County Fair.

4-H and FFA livestock shows, as well as static exhibits, will also be taking place throughout the week at the fairgrounds.

“We have something for everyone at this year’s Webster County Fair,” said Stewart. “We have great entertainment, vendors, and livestock shows. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I hope that everyone will come out and enjoy themselves.”

The Webster County Fair opens on Wednesday morning and runs through Saturday night.

Webster Co. Fair Grandstand Entertainment

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
How do you start cleaning the 4-H kitchen? You take the hose and spray it down. Heather Stewart, fair manager, worked on Saturday with a group of volunteers to get the fairgrounds ready for the 2024 Webster County Fair.

Wednesday: Figure Eight Races

Thursday: Demolition Derby

Friday: ATV Race & Tough Truck Races

Saturday: Webster County Truck Pull

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Cooper Rentz, 10, of Fort Dodge, works with his mom, Monica Rentz Saturday afternoon on some paint touch up at the Webster County Fairgrounds to help ready it for the annual fair.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen
Garden hoses can be used to spray things off to clean them or, for more fun, to spray your friends. Lilly Stewart, 15, of Harcourt, gets a little wet after Layne Condon, 9, of Clare directs the stream in her direction Saturday while they work at the Webster County Fairgrounds to help get it ready for the 2024 Webster County Fair.