Yamhill County Fair booklets available

Yamhill County Fair and Rodeo Official Exhibitors Handbook is available for anyone planning to show their skills in the Aug. 2-5 fair in McMinnville. Those are the dates the fair is open to the public; much happens starting three days earlier.

Anyone can be an official exhibitor, but rules and categories are defined and often detailed, and must be followed. So whatever food, produce, handcraft or art item you might plan to enter, be it acrylics, bee balm, chocolate cake, doilies, or eggs on through yarrow and zinnia, the book has it all.

Find the books at the fair office, on Lafayette Avenue, or view the same information online at yamhillcountyfairs.com.

This year’s theme is “Bounty of the County.” In keeping with this, area growers have been invited to provide information about agriculture in the area between the food booths and the livestock barns.

If you are not planning to exhibit but want to know everything there is about attending, that’s in the book, too. The full schedule is there, whether you plan to exhibit or attend. The book also introduces the 2023 Fair Ambassadors: Ava Hargett, Calli Jordahl, Hannah Hurty, and Nora Liesegang.

One key date to remember is noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 29: open class static exhibit entry day, in Lewis Pavilion, for everything except food entries. Static exhibit judging happens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, July 31. See judging categories for full instructions.

July 29 is also barn set-up day, and horse exhibitors bring in their horses starting at noon on Sunday, July 30. Meetings, tryouts, receiving of livestock and small animals, and market animal weigh-in are a few of the things that happen for exhibitors and participants on a busy Tuesday, Aug. 1.

Fair hours are to 10 a.m. 11 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 1-2 and 10 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 4-5.