09/08/2026
🎡 THE 158TH GREAT STONEBORO FAIR — WEEK IN REVIEW 🎡
Well… what a WEEK!
The 158th Great Stoneboro Fair gave us a little bit of everything this year — rain, mud, flooding, severe storms, sunshine, and plenty of memories!
We’re pretty sure NONE of this was on our bingo cards for the fair this year!
Mother Nature definitely kept us on our toes. We battled flooded parking lots, muddy grounds, tornado warnings, downed trees, stuck vehicles, flooded tunnels that became their own little water features, you name it, it happened this year!
At one point, our crew even had to jump in with a skid loader to help a stranded wheelchair user who got stuck in the tunnel that was flooding. Not exactly the kind of fairground assistance we had planned on providing, but our people stepped up and made sure they got to safety.
Then came the severe weather, downed trees, damaged canopies, more cleanup, and plenty of scrambling behind the scenes to keep things moving and, most importantly, keep everyone safe.
Our volunteers, workers, and directors were absolutely incredible.
There were sleepless nights for some of our directors, with some working into the early morning hours cleaning up storm damage and getting the grounds ready for the next day. While most people were sleeping, our directors and volunteers were still out there working, planning, cleaning, and figuring out how to make the next day happen.
And we're pretty sure the Fair Directors gained a few more gray hairs this week! 😂
There were extra phone calls, long nights, early mornings, a LOT of mud, and probably more than a few moments of “What are we going to do now?” — but somehow, we kept moving forward.
From cleaning up storm damage and fighting the mud, to working gates, parking, shuttles, grandstand events, rides, food, grounds, and everything else that goes into putting on this fair — our people never stopped.
A HUGE THANK YOU to H&W Transportation for helping with our shuttle service from Lakeview School and getting our guests safely to and from the fairgrounds. We truly wouldn't have had a fair if it wasn't for Jodi and her AMAZING team!!!!!!!!!!
Another HUGE THANK YOU to our first responders and emergency personnel! Responding to countless medical emergencies across the grounds.
We want to give a special thank you to our security team, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, and Constable Smith for their presence, assistance, and support throughout the week. Your help was greatly appreciated and helped us keep our guests, volunteers, and workers safe.
And there are SO many people and businesses who stepped up to help us this year that we could probably spend days trying to name everyone.
One thing we can say for sure — when we needed help, our community answered the call.
THANK YOU to McDowell Trucking. With one phone call, they jumped into action and had multiple loads of stone delivered to help us keep our driveways and parking areas usable. When the weather was working against us, they were there to help us fight back. We truly appreciate you!
THANK YOU to Temple Portable Crushing for providing stone to help us battle the mud and flooding. Your generosity and willingness to help made a huge difference.
These are the kinds of things that don't always get seen by the fairgoer. You see the rides, the food, the grandstand events, the lights and the entertainment — but behind the scenes are countless people working, hauling, cleaning, repairing, donating, answering phones, moving equipment, and doing whatever needs to be done to keep this fair going.
To every business, organization, volunteer, employee, contractor, sponsor, donor, emergency responder, vendor, exhibitor, and individual who helped us — please know how much we appreciate you.
We may not be able to name every single person, but we know who you are, and we are incredibly grateful.
Despite everything Mother Nature threw at us, we hope that you still got to enjoy the rodeo, demo derby, truck and tractor pulls, live entertainment, rides, food, vendors, livestock, and all the traditions that make the Great Stoneboro Fair special.
Most importantly — THANK YOU to everyone who came out and supported us.
You showed up. You stuck with us through the mud. You were patient when parking changed. You dealt with flooded areas and shuttle changes. And you continued to support the fair even when Mother Nature seemed determined to test us!
The Great Stoneboro Fair has been a Labor Day tradition since 1867, and it takes an entire community to keep that tradition alive.
It truly takes a village — and this village showed up.
It may not have gone exactly according to plan… But we sure made some memories.
And next year, we're hoping our fair bingo card has a LOT more sunshine, a whole lot less water, and maybe a few more hours of sleep!
From our entire Fair Board and volunteer family — THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, for being part of the 158th Great Stoneboro Fair!
🎡❤️ WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT YEAR AT THE FAIR! ❤️🎡
THE GREAT STONEBORO FAIR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Shirley McIntire - President
Jason McCurdy - Vice President
Marc Saeler, Chris Baer, Jodi Martin, Mandy Campbell, Derek Beach, Jim Uber, John Gander
Patty Adamson - Secretary
Lisa Hicks - Treasurer
Susan Patterson - Office Support
Always on Labor Day 🇺🇸
