The Union County Fair is set to make its return Tuesday with all its usual attractions – games, rides, vendors, food, exhibits, and livestock shows.
Tickets are $7 at the gate or $25 for a wristband. Gates will open at 5 p.m. each day other than Saturday, when the fair will open at 1 p.m. All "school-age" children get in for free on Saturday at the gate from 1 until 5 p.m.
Livestock shows will be held each day and will conclude with the junior livestock sale on Friday starting at 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Livestock shows will kick off Tuesday with the cattle show at 3 p.m. From 8 until 11 a.m., the home economics building will be open to receive exhibits.
Gates open at 5 p.m. each weekday, as does the home economics exhibit building.
Livestock shows will also continue with the rabbit show at 6 p.m.
Wednesday
On Wednesday, a canned food drive for the Salvation Army will be held from 5 until 8 p.m.
Attendees can receive $2 admission and $3 off wristbands in exchange for five donated canned food items.
Livestock shows will kick off at 3 p.m. with the sheep show and continue at 4 p.m. with the goat show and 6 p.m. with the swine show.
Thursday
On Thursday, the fair will host another community focused event – a LifeShare blood drive from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The Livestock Skill-a-Thon will kick off at 4 p.m. and the Old Timers Showmanship event will take place at 5 p.m.
The Skill-A-Thon is a competition in which 4H youth take on the role of judges to demonstrate their knowledge of events.
The Old Timers' Show is a 4H fundraiser in which anyone aged out of 4H or FFA can be nominated to show, according to previous News-Times reporting.
Friday
The junior livestock show, in which young people who participated in the week's shows will have the opportunity to sell their livestock, kicks off at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
Saturday
The fair's final day will feature free admission for school-aged children starting at 1 p.m. and lasting until 5 p.m.
Wristbands will also be reduced to $20 from 1 until 5 p.m. Wristbands will not be sold from 5 until 6 p.m., and wristbands purchased before 6 p.m. are not valid after 6 p.m.
A petting zoo will also be on site from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.
To cap the day off, the New Image Gospel Group will perform starting at 7 p.m.