By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY ó The Rowan County Agricultural and Industrial Fair will open for the 60th time Monday, featuring some new activities for children and entertainment for the whole family.
Located between Interstate 85 and Old Concord Road on Julian Road, the six-day fair will be open each weekday from 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 11:30 p.m., when the fair ends.
The exhibit and livestock buildings will open at 4 p.m. and close at 7 p.m. each day. Rides begin operation at 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday.
New this year is Western North Carolina Mountain Trout Fishing ó which may actually involve catfish, Love said, because of concerns about trout survival in hot weather.
Children will be able to catch and release fish in front of the fair barn, and they can earn small prizes by catching a tagged fish.
ěI donít know of any other fair in the state thatís done something like that,î Love said. ěIf we can get some kids interested in fishing, maybe they wonít get in trouble.î
Another new feature called AgriKids Academy will be located in Building 2 on the fairgrounds. Love said children will be able to go to different work stations there to learn about agriculture and play educational games.
ěKids can come there and actually learn where eggs come from and where milk comes from and be interactive,î he said.
The Childrenís Barnyard petting zoo will be held at 4 p.m. each afternoon.
Then, each night at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ó plus Saturday at 2 p.m. ó Nojoeís Clown Circus will put on an interactive circus-style show. This year, Love said, the clown circus includes a high-wire thrill show.
In addition, musical acts will perform from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on the first four days of the fair, he said.
On Monday and Wednesday, D.C. and the Chosen Few will play a variety of music. Bluegrass and gospel group Strings of Victory will perform on Tuesday and Thursday.
Figure 8 racing will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. for V-8, V-6 and four-cylinder classes. The Demolition Derby will follow on Friday at 8:30 p.m.
The Miss and Master Natural Beauty Contest is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m.
Several exhibits, including fruits, vegetables, baked goods, flowers, house furnishings, clothing, art pieces and crafts will be judged Monday and displayed for the length of the fair.
In addition, there will be a junior dog show and livestock shows for beef cattle, dairy cattle, market lambs, junior breeding ewes and junior market goats. Beef cattle, dairy cattle and lambs can be entered in dress-up contests.
As always, a variety of food vendors and carnival games will line the walkways on the fairgrounds.
General admission is $7 for adults, $3 for children ages 6-11 and free for children 5 and under. A wristband for unlimited rides will be available for $20. On the first day of the fair, adults get in free with four cans of food for Rowan Helping Ministries. Also on Monday, the cost of the unlimited rides wristband will be reduced to $18.
For ěschool days,î public school children from designated area schools are admitted for $1 or two cans of food on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
All proceeds from parking, which costs $1 per vehicle, will go to the nonprofit organizations whose volunteers help park cars.
For more information, visit www.rowancountyfair.org or call 704-633-5632.