Lauderdale County Fair: 20 Years of Family Fun
The Lauderdale County Fair celebrated 20 years of bringing family entertainment to Northwest Tennessee with the foundations of faith, family, community and agriculture, said Susan Worlds, executive director of Lauderdale Chamber/Economic & Community Development.
The event features contests, livestock shows, main stage entertainment, a kiddie derby, community church service, midway carnival rides, Pick TN products, truck and car shows, antique tractor shows and a petting zoo.
“Our fair began in 2004 with a dream by the Lauderdale chamber to have something for all families to do,” Worlds said.
In the beginning, the chamber contracted with Wade Shows to bring midway rides to the fair. As the company evolved, it added different states to its schedule, and Lauderdale County fell off its route.
The fair’s board of directors searched hard for an alternative but opted to have an agricultural exhibition as the main attraction, Worlds explained. In 2016, the board found a suitable replacement and contracted with Sonshine Entertainment to play the fair.
“This was a win-win for Sonshine and Lauderdale County,” Worlds said. “To date, through the hard work of the Lauderdale Chamber/ECD and the Lauderdale County Fair Board, and support from Mayor Eugene Pugh and the Town of Halls, over $450,000 has been spent on improvements at the fairgrounds.”
Volunteers have also made improvements. For example, Paul Ward with West Tennessee Pallet and Crate builds a new attraction every year. He has built a barn front at the entrance gate, a memory porch and gathering porch, a pavilion for the kids’ zone and a church as the beginning of a tiny town.
This year he’s planning to build a general store with a little counter and various items on display. “The fair is something good for the county, and it gives people something to do,” Ward said. “It keeps stuff in the county positive.”
Ward credits Worlds for her efforts to produce the fair, and he expressed gratitude to the owners of West Tennessee Pallet and Crate for their support.
Worlds encouraged everyone to come out, support the fair and join in the family fun.
“Where, you ask? Nowhere else but the Lauderdale County Fair!”