County Fair

Antique Tractor Show & Children’s Activities

The Canadian River Old Iron Club (CROIC) hosts the tractor pulls and free children’s activities at the annual Cleveland County Free Fair on the north side of the fairgrounds campus. CROIC is part of the National Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association. Families can take a step back in time with CROIC’s free, hand’s on, kid-friendly activities including a hayride, trackless train, corn grinder and sheller, washtub, and more. Antique Tractors are on display all three days and Antique Tractor Pulls are slated for all three days.

Entertainment

Entertainment opens Thursday at 7 p.m. with the John Arnold Band on the stage located on east side of fairgrounds. In addition to the bands which perform in the evenings and on Sunday afternoon, we will have 4-H Cloggers and Silver Spurs Square Dancing performing during the day on Saturday. Friday’s Band is One Eyed Jack, Saturday’s band is Black Water Bridge and Sunday’s is the Brown Notes and then Dale Moser & The Blackhorse Band.

Carnival

We are excited to have Wade Shows doing our carnival this year. Wade Shows owns over 100 amusement rides and attractions and services over 15 million people each year, playing more State Fairs than any other carnival in history and working with great events such as the Oklahoma State Fair, the North Carolina State Fair, the Missouri State Fair, the South Florida Fair, the San Antonio Livestock Show and Exhibition, the Alabama State Fair, the Delaware State Fair, the Florida State Fair, and the Alabama National Fair. Wade Shows also works with many large county and regional fairs as well as city and civic sponsored events.

One of America''s premier carnival companies, Wade Shows is consistently ranked as one of the top five amusement companies by our industry’s leading trade publication: CarnivalWarehouse.com. Wade Shows is also the greenest carnival on the road today, having spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on initiatives such as replacing the lighting on rides with LED lighting, purchasing the most fuel-efficient generators available, using bio-diesel when available and initiating midway recycling programs with fair partners.

Events

The Baby Crawl and Stick Horse Races are fun events which are open to public participation at no charge. Enter your baby in the crawl at 5:30 pm, Friday in the Fair Barn arena. Babies must crawl the entire distance. The Stick Horse race is open to ages 2-6 and immediately follows the Baby Crawl.

The Cow Milking Contest on Friday evening in the Fair Barn is another crowd pleaser. From the experienced to some who may have never milked a cow before, there’s always plenty of cheers and good times during this event.

The Kiddie Pedal Pull on Saturday has age-grouped children pedaling child-sized tractors pulling weighted sleds. Our county fair hosts the Oklahoma State Championship featuring county winners from across the state, as well as the annual Cleveland County competition which is open to entry by any Cleveland County child who is a resident.

The Junior Auctioneer Contest has three age groupings with competitors ranging from age five to 19. Proceeds of the auction are donated to the Cleveland County 4-H scholarship fund.

Adult events open to entry include NASA Powerlifting — competitors compete in the squat, bench press, deadlift and curl — and Arm Wrestling on Saturday.

The State Championship Wiener Dog Races and Costume Contest on Sunday are crowd favorites. Heats of wienie dogs compete for prizes. People come from far and wide to let their dogs compete with sometime hysterical and always entertaining results.

Don’t miss the Car and Motorcycle Show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Exhibitions

Exhibits bring entries in three categories: Open, 4-H and Oklahoma Home and Community Education (OHCE). Open entries include youth through adult contests while 4-H and OHCE are for those members only. Entries are turned in on Wednesday from 3-8 p.m. and judging starts the next morning. Housed inside Exhibition Hall, the Exhibits open for viewing on Thursday at 4 p.m. The Exhibition Hall closes nightly at 10 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m. after which the exhibits are released.

Entries include everything from preserves to baked goods to craft, sewing, photography and art projects. Best of Show are selected from each category, representing the best of the best and the three county commissioners each pick several “Commissioners’ Favorites” to highlight. For a full listing of categories and entry rule, pick up a copy of the 2022 Fair Book at the Fairgrounds Office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. or download it here. OHCE and 4-H members can also download their fair books: OHCE Member Fair Book and 4-H Member Fair Book.

Fair Barn

While there are some fun events and activities like the petting zoo and pony rides in addition to events listed above that occur in the fair barn, the barn and arena are primarily occupied with the horse and livestock shows.

The annual Cleveland County Horse Show, hosted the weekend prior to the county fair is a favorite for many in the horse community. It’s also great entertainment for spectators or for anyone who wants to know more about the sport. Slated for 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 27 this year, horse show pre-entry forms are due Aug. 9. In addition to age division, riders can compete in English Hunter or Western Pleasure. Entry forms are available online or at the fairgrounds office. See the Open Category Fair Book for more information.

Fair board members facilitate the Livestock shows and arrange for judges from other counties to ensure fairness. Most of the participants are from 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA). Livestock shows include: Beef, Swine, Sheep, Meat Goats, Dairy Cattle, Dairy Goats, Rabbits and Poultry. All Livestock entries are due Aug. 25.