Nebraska State Fair begins Friday

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - After months of back and forth and questions on how a potential state fair may look, the Nebraska State Fair has arrived, beginning Friday at Fonner Park in Grand Island.

The main focus of this year’s fair will be 4-H and FFA events, taking up the bulk of each weekend day.

Click here for more information on 4-H & FFA events

“We’re talking 5,000 young people and their families, livestock and exhibits,” Bill Ogg, the fair’s Executive Director, said. “That’s a big deal. That by itself is something that we really need to come out and support.”

The very first event of the 2020 State Fair will be the Horse Foundation quarter horse show at 8 a.m. Following that event, there will be a variety of exhibits, displays, competitions, shows and memorials until 8 p.m.

Click here for full list of events

“Hosting the Nebraska State Fair, even in the abbreviated form that it is, and I will not apologize for what we don’t have because that was out of our control, but what I want to celebrate, with a great deal of enthusiasm, is what we do have,” Ogg said.

A handful of food vendors will be at Fonner Park this year, as well as various exhibits and displays in the Raising Nebraska building. Some events will be held outside of the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center and others in the Expo Center and the Thompson Outdoor Arena.

Scattered around the fairgrounds are hand sanitizer stations and face coverings are strongly recommended but not required. Organizers are also encouraging fair goers to keep social distancing in mind.

Gate admission and parking is free this year. The only ticketed event is the ultimate bull fighting. It costs $20.

Click here to read about the fair’s COVID-19 plan and policies

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