The 2026 Douglas County Fair will bring back crowd favorites like the demolition derby, a carnival, pony rides, cornhole tournaments and more.
Events will be at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. in Lawrence.
Saturday, July 18 through Sunday, July 26 is a preshow for the full-on fair, with 4-H events like including a hand pet and cat show at 9 a.m. Saturday; a dog show at 1 p.m. the same day; and a public modeling showcaste at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 22.
For equine fans, there will be an open horse show at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 25 and the 4-H Horse Show at 9 a.m. Sunday, July 26.
The fair will start to heat up Tuesday, July 28.
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Step right up to the carnival
Hours for Moore’s Greater Shows Carnival will be as follows:
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• 6 to 11 p.m. Wednesday, July 29
• 6 to 11 p.m. Thursday, July 30: Family night
• 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, July 31
• 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1: Family day
• 5 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Aug. 1
“We will NOT know the pricing until they roll into town,” a Douglas County Fair post reads. “Prices will be posted on the pinned post (on Facebook) as soon as it’s available.” For reference, armbands were $35 last year.
Get bumper-to-bumper with the demolition derby
Outdoor arena gates will open at 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 31 for the first night of the annual demolition derby, and the event will start at 7:30 p.m.
On the second night, Saturday, Aug. 1, gates will open at 7 p.m. and the show will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available online via Eventbrite. They cost $15 for one night or $25 for both nights, plus processing fees (for totals of $19.20 and $30.57, respectively) if purchased online.
Pet animals and ride ponies
Hours to visit fuzzy and feathered friends will be 1 to 9 p.m. each day from Wednesday, July 29 through Saturday, Aug. 1.
Pony rides will be available from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 29 and Thursday, July 30; hours expand to 2 to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday later that week.
More events
Here are some of the other main events planned for the fair, according to the schedule on the website.
• Tuesday, July 28, features a poultry show and showmanship at 8 a.m. in the Open Pavilion.
Later at the Open Pavilion, the cornhole tournament will go from 1 to 2 p.m. It will continue every day through Friday at the same time in the same place, until the championship match on Saturday (see times below).
There will be a food sale from 3 to 6 p.m. in Building 21, a meat goat show at 6 p.m. in the Open Pavilion, and a “Touch a Truck” event from 6 to 8 p.m. in the North Dreher parking lot. Ethan James will cap off the evening with music from 8 to 10 p.m. in the stage area.
• Wednesday, July 29, the rabbit show starts at 8:30 a.m. and the swine show starts at 5 p.m., both in the Open Pavilion. The dairy cow show will take place in the community building at 11 a.m., with the dairy goat show immediately following.
There will be a garden tractor pull hosted by Big Red Sled starting at 7 p.m. as Allison Wilson sunsets the day with music in the stage area from 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday is also the first night for the carnival (see hours above).
• Thursday, July 30, the llama and alpaca show will start at 9 a.m., and the sheep show will start at 6 p.m., both in the Open Pavilion. Folks will test their dairy goat milking skills at two contests at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
An antique tractor pull will start at 6 p.m. in the outdoor arenal 8 p.m. will bring “Scoops with the Sheriffs,” with free ice cream and information on the county sheriff’s office.
The Back-Atcha Band will perform from 7 to 10 p.m. in the stage area.
• Friday, July 31, a bucket calf show starting at 8:30 a.m. in the community building will be followed by a beef show.
An inclusion showmanship contest will precede the adult showmanship and creative fitting event in the Open Pavilion at 4 and 5 p.m., respectively. The bale-throwing contest gets rolling at 6 p.m. in the blacktop area — signup starts at 5:30 p.m.
Delta Haze will perform from 8 to 11 p.m. in the stage area. Friday is also the first night for the demolition derby (see info above).
• Saturday, Aug. 1, registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. for the farm bureau’s pedal tractor pull, and the event starts at 10:30 a.m. Barnyard Olympics start at 11 a.m. The cornhole tournament championship is set for noon in the Open Pavilion.
An awards ceremony at 3 p.m. in the Open Pavilion will transition to a 4-H foundation recognition and ice cream social at 4 p.m. The 5:30 p.m. livestock auction will be the last Open Pavilion event.
The Vincents will provide a musical coda for the week from 8 to 10 p.m. in the stage area.
This year’s turtle race, originally scheduled for Saturday, was cancelled.
Find more info about the fair and a complete schedule at dgcountyfair.com.
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Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Connor Sutton/Contributed photo
