Beginning Wednesday, thousands are expected to converge on the Martinsville Speedway for the Henry County Fair.
The four-day event is part of Henry County’s effort to reach out to the community, via a weekend of food and family-friendly festivities. At the center is the fair’s primary organizer and the county’s parks and recreation director, Roger Adams.
“It’s a festival just to celebrate everything Henry County and provide a family-friendly, cost-affordable outing for residents and also visitors out of town,” Adams said.
Adams expects 5,000 to attend this year, as long as the weather holds.
At $5 per person, the tickets give patrons access to all concerts, ground shows, a petting zoo, agricultural exhibits and fireworks.
The fair will also feature vendors selling traditional fair food and more exotic things like alligator bites.
“It actually is alligator,” Adams said. “I haven’t tried it yet. I’ll try it this year, but folks think it’s really good.”
This year’s performances will include shows by Creedence Clearwater Recital, Rhett Walker and Taylor Swift tribute band Love Story.
“There is also a race going on that Saturday night at the Martinsville Speedway,” Adams said. “After the fair there that week … they can come to the race.”
While Adams said the Henry County Fair probably isn’t as large or well-attended as state fairs, it is among one of the biggest draws in the region.
“State fairs are always the biggest in the state, but for a county fair, ours is very large,” Adams said, adding that this year’s fair will have around 20 rides, split between rides for little kids and rides for teenagers and adults.
The current fair, which had its inaugural year in 2021, is actually the second time Henry County has been the site of an annual fair. The original fair, put on by the county’s Agricultural Board, dates back to the 1800s.
The fair went away for several decades then was reopened in 2021 with a few changes, such as its location at the Martinsville Speedway and Henry County as the organizer. The county contributes $40,000, while sponsors and ticket sales total around $40,000.
“We’ve grown a lot over the past 10 to 15 years,” Adams said. “We just wanted to continue to offer quality entertainment, not just for our residents but to bring in visitors to our county.”
Adams said much of the work putting the fair together came during that initial year in 2021 when he took inspiration from other fairs. Every subsequent fair has been easier to stage.
Now in its fifth year, the Henry County Fair is quickly becoming one of the county’s most popular events.
“Five years, for a fair, it’s still a baby,” Adams said, comparing it to other fairs that have been around for decades.
