Of the 106 county and district fairs in the state of Iowa, only one can call themselves a true FREE fair. This means no parking fees, no entertainment fees, no admission fees. Which fair gets to claim this title? We do!

Surprisingly, it’s a tradition that hasn’t always been in place. Reports as far back as the 1920’s show that admission prices ranged from 50 cents to four dollars; plus, it cost a quarter to park your automobile. Then, if you wanted to see the grandstand entertainment that evening, it’d cost you an extra 35-50 cents! 

Those fees came to an end in 1954. 

Fair board president at the time, Eldon Kay, stated that the free admission was made possible “by the kind generosity and fine cooperation of many businessmen, farmers and other friends of the fair and the 4-H and FFA programs who have and are contributing to the necessary cost of the operation charges and entertainment of the fair program.” 

We’ve been backed by a giving community for over 70 years now.