Clay County Fair named one of ‘10 great places for blue-ribbon county fairs’ in USA Today

Spencer, Iowa – The Clay County Fair was dubbed one of 10 great places for blue-ribbon county fairs in the Friday, August 6 edition of USA Today.

The travel section story focused on 10 fairs that feature unique and historical aspects of the traditional county fair. The article featured commentary from authors Drake Hokanson and Carol Kratz who wrote the book, Purebred and Homegrown: America’s County Fairs.

The authors speak of the Clay County Fair saying, “The display of machinery, seeds and equipment shows that farmers still run the show at this gathering in the corn and soybean country of northwest Iowa.” Co-author Kratz says, “Farm machinery isn’t part of most fairs anymore.” The article continues alluding to the fact that, “the fair also books surprisingly big-name musical performers.”

Other fairs featured in the article include Tillamook County Fair in Oregon, Chautauqua County Fair in New York, Vernon County Fair in Wisconsin, Adams Agricultural Fair in Massachusetts, Elberton 12-County Fair in Georgia, Johnson County Fair & Rodeo in Wyoming, Merced County Fair in California, Deltana Fair in Alaska and Fayette County Free Fair in Indiana.

The article was part of a feature in the travel section of USA Today called “10 Great”. It highlights different aspects in food, sports, culture and the unusual by naming the top 10 great places for each featured theme.

The 2010 Clay County Fair runs September 11-19. For more information visit www.claycountyfair.com or call 712-262-4740.