Fun for Everyone at the Brown County Fair

The Brown County Fair is no mystery to Aberdeen.

From live entertainment to open class livestock to greasy food to home arts exhibits, the fair is guaranteed to fit everyone’s fun-filled agenda.

Set for August 16 through 22, the fun-for-everyone, end-of-the-summer event is highly anticipated not only by the people of Aberdeen, but also by people across the state.

“We’re always looking for the next thing we can improve to implement to make the fair better,” Interim Manager Sonje Oban said.

While a large part of the fair is to bring new and exciting features to keep the public interested, the fair board still wants to stay true to tradition with the livestock events, home art competitions, camping, vendors, and some of the best concerts in the area.

So, what can you all expect for the 2021 Brown County Fair?

The Grandstand entertainment is packed with unbeatable entertainment starting with two nights of the Dacotah Bank Stampede Rodeo, continuing with top artists in various genres including country, rock, and hip hop, and finishing with the Antique Tractor pull. For a detailed version of the Grandstand schedule of events and artist biographies, visit www.bcfair.com.

Three tents will be set up—Ken’s Family Tent, Kessler’s Big Top Tent, and NVC Tent—for free entertainment all week long. In those tents, people can enjoy the Area Federal Credit Union Rising Star Competition talent contest, bingo, musicians and bands, hypnotists, Minute to Win It, root beer float feeds, and local entertainment. 

For the people who love to browse, shopping will be available in the Holum Expo building and the Odde Ice Arena, and some vendors can be located outside around the fairgrounds on Machinery Row to the east of the carnival and south of the Odde Ice Arena.

The carnival, another major staple for the fair, will host 30 rides for those seeking a rush of adrenaline. If you don’t have a need for speed, wander around the prize booths for family-friendly games.

For the families looking for activities for children, the Sanford Kid’s Zone has free activities for youth of all ages: a petting zoo, game-show style contests, and coloring pages.

Fairgoers can expect the usual fair favorites from the food vendors like the large corn dogs, fresh fries, flavorful funnel cake, Tubby’s Burgers, and sweet rolled ice cream. But people should expect more variety from the 2021 fair.

New food that will make an appearance at the 2021 fair includes Happi Lao Foods with egg rolls, rangoons, Laotian fried rice, noodles, spring rolls, and more. Boki European Street Food will bring paella and piada plates, and wood fire pizza is making a comeback.

Last but not least, people can satisfy their sweet tooth by checking out the new dessert stand: “Just Your Desserts.” If you are looking for ice cream cones to cool you off in the hot August weather or wanting something richer with chocolate-dipped fruits and desserts or need a simple parfait, this new vendor will be the place to go.

A few hidden gems that people should watch for in this year’s fair is the Agriculture education feature in the Odde Ice Arena with the interactive exhibit and a new area where children can write letters to farmers, cooking demonstrations in the Home Arts building on August 18, and pie/cheesecake contest on August 21.

“We strive to provide a wallet-friendly experience that encourages people to come back for more than one day,” Sonje said. “We try to book unique vendors and entertainment so that our fairgoers are seeing something unique every time they walk the grounds.”

The 2021 Brown County Fair will not disappoint, so be sure to check out all there is to offer starting August 16. If anyone has questions or would like to volunteer, call 605-626-7116. //