The rides began rolling into town Monday and by Tuesday morning the carnival workers were putting them together. The Crawford County Fair was taking shape and getting ready to open the gates to fairgoers for its annual Thursday through Sunday run this week.

This year’s wristband specials for the carnival rides will run from 6-10 p.m. Thursday, 1-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. The wristbands will cost $18 for unlimited rides during those hours.

The fair has implemented an admission fee this year instead of parking fees and admission to individual grandstand events. Daily admission passes can be purchased for $5 for Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Beginning at noon on Friday, that price goes to $10 to cover the cost of the country acts lined up for the Friday evening’s entertainment: Trent Tomlinson at 7 p.m., Colt Ford at 9 p.m., and The Country Road Band at 11 p.m.

In addition to the country music on Friday night, the fair will again have its Hug-a-Hog Contest on Thursday night in the grandstand, where local teams of three people will try to place a muddy pig into a 55-gallon barrel in the shortest amount of time. The Demolition Derby is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday in the grandstand, and on Sunday, there will be the big Tri-State Truck and Tractor Pull in the grandstand at noon. Remember there is an admission charge to enter the fair this year, but there is no charge to attend any of the grandstand events.

A gate will be set up on the north side of the fairgrounds for those who choose to walk to the fairgrounds rather than park on site.

See you at the fair!