Jay fair goes Young

The grandstand at Jay County Fairgrounds was packed last year with 21-year-old Hunter Hayes on the stage.
Jay County Fair Board has decided to go Young again.
Board president Rob Weaver announced this morning Eli Young Band will be the featured artist for this year’s Jay County Fair, which will run July 7 through 12. The group will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, with Eric Paslay as the opening act.
“We’re excited,” said Weaver. “They’re another band that appeals to the younger audience a bit. … The younger crowd seems to add a bit of excitement and enthusiasm to the fairgrounds.”
Eli Young Band has had two No. 1 hits on the U.S Country charts, including “Crazy Girl”, which was the Academy of Country Music Awards winner for Song of the Year in 2012. The band’s other No. 1 came with “Even if it Breaks Your Heart” in 2012.
The band nearly reached the top of the charts again in 2013 with “Drunk Last Night”, which peaked at No. 3.
Paslay is best known for his song “Friday Night”, which was a top-10 hit in 2013.
“He’s a brand-new kid who just had a No. 1 song,” said Weaver. “We’re hoping he’ll draw some. Sometimes your opening acts don’t draw a lot of people, but we’re hoping he will do that.
“We’re excited. We think there’ll be a lot of energy with both the acts.”
Tickets for the concert will be $50 for the standing pit, $37 for track seats and $27 for the grandstand. They will be sold first online at www.jaycountyfair.com and should be available within the next two weeks, Weaver said.
The only significant change to the fair schedule is on Monday night, which had previously played host to a truck and tractor pull. This year’s Monday entertainment at the grandstand will be a hog-wrestling event beginning at 7 p.m.
The idea came from junior fair board members who saw a demonstration of the event at the state convention earlier this year. It will be open to anyone who wants to put together a four-person team.
“We just had been kind of stagnant on the income from the truck and tractor pull,” said Weaver. “We just thought we would try something different.”
Evening grandstand entertainment for the rest of the week is as follows: Tuesday — Figure 8 and straw races; Thursday — Phil Dirt and the Dozers concert; Friday — Jay County only demolition derby; Saturday — Open demolition derby. There will also be harness racing at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
“Phil Dirt is very popular. It’s been a while since we’ve had them,” said Weaver. “We thought we’d bring them back at least one more year. We’re just trying to mix up the lineup a little bit.”
The midway will open at 5 p.m. Monday, July 7, for a ride-a-thon. McDonald’s Kids Day will be from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, with rides opening at 1 p.m. The living statue mime will return from 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, there will be a classic car cruise-in from 4 to 7 p.m. July 10 and the fair will end with a ride-a-thon from noon to closing Saturday, July 12.
There will also be a one-man band at the fair each day. Veterans days, which include free admission for veterans, will be held on Monday and Thursday during fair week. And the Cincinnatus League senior citizen’s recognition will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
The Jay County Fair queen will be crowned during the pageant at the grandstand at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 29. The Jay County Lions’ Marching Band Contest will be at 7 p.m. Friday, July 18.[[In-content Ad]]