The Clay County Fair celebrates America 250 this year with a patriotic theme and historical events designed to honor veterans and fallen heroes.
The fair begins Tuesday. Clay County Fair President Carla Rich said the event combines nostalgic feelings about the past with new events to create excitement for the community.
“This year is America 250 and the Clay County Fair has embraced that and we have a patriotic theme this year and several events that are related to that,” Rich said. “So we are going to be having these events that concentrate on our history and give a nod to patriotism and that itself creates a lot of nostalgia.”
Rich said the fair officially begins Tuesday with gates opening at 4pm and activities running through Saturday. Rich said the event remains agriculturally based with livestock featured on the grounds four out of the five nights. This year’s fair will feature a truck pull for the first time in several years.
“I think it is a chance to gather with our friends and neighbors and everybody is just so happy and we see smiles everywhere and it, it just brings a lot of joy and, you know, for our all-volunteer board, that’s what we work for all year long,” Rich said.
Rich said the fair will kick off with a Memorial Day Walk and Ride Monday at 9am, honoring military veterans in Celina.
“We want to give a special nod to our veterans and our fallen heroes and so we are having this walk ride to bring honor to them and we are going to have a special float that any veteran can ride on,” Rich said. “So they just need to meet us in Celina and climb aboard and we are going to have a real special time for them.”
Rich said the fairgrounds feature barn facilities and a spectator area where young people exhibit their animals for awards. Rich said the food court will include traditional carnival food from Casey’s Rides and lemonade provided by local 4-H members.
“We just appreciate so much our sponsors that make this possible and our volunteer board and you just can’t imagine how excited we are to see all of our guests,” Rich said. “So we, we hope that you’ll come out and enjoy the first fair of the year in the state of Tennessee.”
Rich said the “Farmer for a Day” exhibit will be available for children to attend at no cost.
The organization was named the most improved fair for its division by the Tennessee Association of Fairs last year, Rich said.