Soup and sandwich fundraiser generates offseason excitement for the fair

In the midst of a late-February “false spring” warmup, the Adair County Fair Board brought warmer thoughts to many Adair County residents who attended the fair’s annual winter fundraiser Sunday, Feb. 23.

The fair board, with the help of local 4-Hers and others, served soup, sandwiches and desserts up for those who attended. A pie auction was held after the meal.

“I think the event went well. We had a lot of support from the community. As always, we appreciate people coming and supporting us through events like this,” Adair County Fair Board member Alecia Heinz said.

As usual, the fair board has been hard at work preparing for the next fair, scheduled for this July 9-13. Projects on tap for the fairgrounds before then include new posts and fencing around the courtyard and new windows for the 4-H/FFA building. The windows are made possible by an Empowering Adair County Foundation grant.

The fair board is also continuing in the planning phases of replacing the historic grandstand on the fairgrounds, which dates back to the 1920s. Heinz said that as soon as the 2025 fair is complete, the grandstand will be demolished to make way for a new grandstand. The fair board is hopeful the new structure will be able to serve the fair well into the future.

“The age of the structure and the stairs are really steep [are two main reasons we’re going to get a new grandstand],” Heinz said. “The structure itself is really coming in need of repairs that we can’t feasibly do. With the supervisors' help in getting that funded, I think it’s a really necessary upgrade.”