The smell of cotton candy, warm donuts and buttered popcorn is already filling the air in Beaver Dam for the 2019 Dodge County Fair season. And the excitement of the diverse acts taking the grandstand stage for the free concert series is as thrilling as the midway rides. There will be no shortage of things to do at the 2019 Dodge County Fair. As each day is filled with a diverse slate of activities, concerts and free entertainment. The much-anticipated five-day event is taking place this week, August 14-18.

Attend the fair for only $5.40 per day with the purchase of a season ticket.  Daily gate admission is $7 before 12:00 pm; or $10 after Noon.  Children age nine and under are FREE.  Season tickets are only $27 in advance or $35 at the gate. Grandstand entertainment and parking are FREE with paid gate admission to the fair. Parking is also included. Make sure that you check out the Dodge County Fair website before attending one of the free concerts and events, to learn more about seating and blanket placement for viewing these great acts.

Wednesday evening features the free Badger State Truck and Tractor Pull at 7 pm. But the day starts early with a plethora of exhibits and judging throughout the fairgrounds. Exhibits include projects focused on crafts, animals and unique foods. Fairest of the Fair finals will take place on the WTKM stage at 5 pm.

Animal lovers will enjoy a variety of shows throughout the afternoon, including the Wild World of Animals show, sponsored by Beaver Dam’s Richeliu Foods and the Junior Fair Dog Obedience Performance show. Racing pigs, ducks and goats have been entertaining fair crowds for half of a decade. Pig, Duck, and Goat Races from Pleasure Valley Farm will be racing at Noon, 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 and throughout the fair season. These popular races are sponsored by Moraine Park Technical College.

Thursday’s schedule includes a variety of performances and exhibits for the entire family. The daily Nick’s Kids Show performances are geared towards children ages three to twelve years, but offer entertainment and humor for the entire family. Families can participate from the crowd or take advantage of the interaction on the Kwik-trip sponsored stage. Thursday is also kids wristband day in the afternoon, after 1 pm.

Country music lovers will love singing along to hits by Sawyer Brown at 8 pm on the grandstand stage. The well-decorated group will be taking the stage for the third time at the Dodge County Fair. The musical enjoyment continues on Thursday evening with another concert by local group, Madpolecats at 9:30 pm on the Radio Park stage. The Madison-area group will entertain crowds with their unique reggae/ska/punk sound.

If you haven’t gotten enough singing and dancing in earlier in the week, a diverse music lineup is also scheduled for Friday at the fair. LANCO makes a much-anticipated stop in Beaver Dam on their national tour. The American country music sensation will perform at 8:00 pm. LANCO fans will recognize their hit singles “Long Live Tonight” and “Born to Love You”. Outside of the grandstands, DJ Jeff Hall will play your favorite chart-topping tunes near the legion beer pavilion after the show. And the Radio Park Stage will feature a young, Milwaukee-based group,  Music by FM Rodeo at 9:30.

Locals will have a unique opportunity to be included in video footage from the 2019 fair, when Around the Corner with John McGivern make stops throughout the fair on Friday. The video footage that is collected from 10:00-Noon will be combined with a final episode about tourism in the City of Beaver Dam. The full story is scheduled to be featured in March of next year.

You won’t want to miss the 24th annual celebrity cream puff eating contest, scheduled at 5:00 pm. The event will be broadcasted live on WXRO 95.3 FM, when local celebrities compete in this fun competition. Stop by to see if anyone can beat the previous record of 35:13-seconds.

Don’t leave the kids at home on Friday. Children ages 3-12 years will have the opportunity to compete in the kids pedal tractor pull on Friday from 11:30-12:00. Participants should arrive fifteen minutes early to register and pedal tractors will be provided in front of the north grandstand. Families will also enjoy discounted tickets on Saturday afternoon. Children and their guardians can enjoy twenty midway tickets for only $10 from 12-5pm. Special wristband prices are also featured on Wednesday through Friday.

Two separate “pulls” are scheduled throughout the day on Saturday. Attendees will watch sleds and their team of horses compete in the grandstands at the annual horse pull at 9:00 am and cheer on local farmers at the farm tractor pull at 1:00 pm. Both events are going to be exciting and draw a large, involved crowd from the grandstands.

Rabbits, chickens, ducks, turkeys and more will be up for auction at 4:00 pm on Saturday, during the small animal auction, which supports the 4-H youth and small animal scholarship fund. Interested bidders should arrive between 3-4 pm to register. A second auction is scheduled at 3:00 pm when attendees can bid on items from the chainsaw carving demonstrations earlier in the week. Local businesses and attendees will want to consider bidding on these unique items for placement at their business, outdoor space or yard. Proceeds will benefit Dodge County Fairground improvements for seasons to come.

A full evening of back-to-back musical entertainment is scheduled in the grandstands for Saturday evening. 80’s powerhouses, Great White and Slaughter will put on a free double-act, beginning at 8:00. Both acts will perform countless hits and provide hours of entertainment.

The final day of the fair will begin at 9 am with the Pernat Haase Meats 4WD Truck Pull. Members of the premier Badger Truck Pullers Association will compete with local competitors during this free event. The afternoon will also be filled with other activities for “gear heads” – with demolition derbies scheduled at 1:00 and 6:00 pm. Vehicles will smash and crash in the qualifying afternoon event, with the final event held in the evening. These events are always a popular event at the Dodge County Fair. Arrive early for the best seating to cheer them on.

For a full listing of 2019 Dodge County Fair activities, concerts and midway specials, visit our website at https://dodgecountyfairgrounds.com/dodge-county-fair.