The Woods County Free Fair is happening Sept. 7-9 at the Woods County Fairgrounds in Alva.
Fair-board president, Kevin Pingelton said, “The Woods County Fair is obviously a staple to the county. It gives Alva residents a place to come out and visit with local vendors and see what they have to offer, as well as a place for their kids to come play on the bounce houses or show their livestock that they have worked hard to get to that point.”
Pingelton has served as a member of the fair board for the past 12 years, and he has been the board president for the past two years.
It takes a lot of preparation to get the fair setup Pingelton said. All the members of the fair board are unpaid, as well as all the groups such as 4-H and FFA that come to help setup pens are all on a volunteer basis.
The only salary based employee for the fair is the Woods County Fairgrounds manager, Brock White.
“[The Woods County Free Fair] is one of the largest events we have,” White said. “It brings in people from all over Woods County. A new event this year will be a concert and free food Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. The singers are called Alaska and Madi. They were featured on season six of “The Voice” as members of Blake Shelton’s team.
There will also be a team roping on Sept. 9 at 2 p.m., which is a new event at the fair.
President Cunningham has been involved with the fair since the ‘70s and plans to keep the tradition alive this year as well. “I will be entering a Christmas ornament, a wood block craft, a jar of pickles and a cross-stitch,” Cunningham said.
The 3-day event should have something to offer everyone from the food to the vendors and concert. “It is kind of Americana at its best,” Cunningham said.
The fairgrounds are located on Harper Road, south of the ARC.