"Best Little Fair" set for September 19 and 20

The schedule is set and the fairgrounds in Altenburg are being prepared for the 2008 edition of the East Perry Community Fair on Friday, September 19 and Saturday, September 20. The traditional country fair opens with a parade through the streets of Altenburg beginning at 1:30 p.m., followed by the opening ceremonies. The parade will include floats from area schools, churches, businesses, and organizations and will feature bands from Meadow Heights, Oak Ridge, Perryville, and St. Vincent high schools, as well as the Saxony Hills Community Band.

Judging of the home economics, 4-H, field and forage, horticulture, and poultry and other small animals are also done on Friday and those classes are available for viewing after completion of the judging and again on Saturday. A pedal tractor pull for children at 3:00 pm and an antique tractor pull at 5:00 pm are also part of the program on Friday. The “Thundercreek Band”, which is based in northern Ste. Genevieve County, will provide musical entertainment beginning at 6:30 pm that evening. The band plays a wide range of music including old and new country, rockabilly, and rock classics from the 50’s through the 80’s. For the last four years they have performed throughout the Jefferson, St. Francois, and Ste. Genevieve county areas and have opened for the likes of “Confederate Railroad” and Daryle Singletary.

Saturday’s program will feature many different types of livestock judging. The saddle horse show and the draft horse and mule judging both begin at 11:00 am and are held in the 2,000-seat arena. Saturday’s musical entertainment will be provided by the band “Reminisce” at 1:00 pm and at 6:00 pm by the Jackson Municipal Band. The fair’s most popular event, the mule jumping competition will be held at 6:00 pm on Saturday in the arena. It will be followed by the 4X4 truck pull, which drew huge crowds in its first presentation last year, at 8:00 pm. This year the arena will feature larger food and drink stands and additional rest room facilities behind the bleacher seating on both the East and West sides in response to the record crowds in 2007. The last scheduled event on the fair program is the traditional awarding of attendance prizes at 8:30 pm on Saturday.

On thing that makes the East Perry Community Fair unique is that there are no parking or admission fees and all of the entertainment is free. The event offers something for everyone including rides and games for the kids, food and drink of all kinds, and commercial exhibits featuring many products and services for the farm and home. With the addition of over nine more acres of parking in 2005 the parking and traffic flow have been greatly improved, making it easier than ever to visit Altenburg on Friday and Saturday, September 19 and 20 for “The Best Little Fair in the Land”.