The committee made sure that many farm fair favorites will be returning this year, but also made sure visitors will see a few welcome additions of monster trucks, the Hell on Wheels Stunt Show, the Drag Racing Stinkers and motorcycle races. Returning attractions include the pig races, Junkyard Dog HUMVEE, the Demolition Derby and Masters of the Chainsaw.

Then there is the farm part of the fair, the 4-H livestock displays, sales and contests for ribbons for the best vegetables, art, clothing, flowers and house pets. Contests open to all ages include the buffalo chip toss, pie-eating and watermelon eating contest and the spelling bee.

The buffalo chip toss will be held Friday at 3pm, Saturday at 2:30pm, and Sunday at 1pm. If you should choose to participate, remember that Rule 20 for buffalo chip tossing contest states, "Gloves are discouraged. Persons using gloves will be labeled ‘sissy’ and may be penalized at the discretion of the judges and subject to ridicule by the crowd and contestants."

Watermelon eating will be on Saturday at 3pm. Registration for this event will be Thursday and Friday at the fair information booth and on Saturday at the main pavilion. Contestants will be separated into classes based on their age and judged for speed. Watermelons will be provided by Kirk’s Farm Produce of Forest Hill. A pie eating contest will be held an hour earlier at 2pm at the main pavilion. Registration for the pie-eating contest will be at the same time and locations.

There will be plenty of activities for children at the Kidway where activities range from yo-yo contests to crafts and races. Candy and Cupcake will be providing entertainment with sons and puppets during the fair. Kidway is definitely the place to go if someone is in desperate need of face painting. Prizes will go to the winner of Barnyard Bingo, a game new to the Kidway.

Chainsaws will be humming during the ice carving contest and when the Masters of the Chainsaw show their skill with their high-speed, sawdust throwing art. In a few hours, eagles, horses, bears, and birds will emerge from solid blocks of ice or wood. One of the masters of the chainsaw won the ice-carving contest last year. There’s no other way to find out if he’ll try again unless you watch them this year.

Miniature horses, Shetland Ponies, and Breyer Horses are small, but a big crowd is expected to see them all. Draft horses will display their strength, and dressage horses will display their skill. New this year will be the ox- pull and barrel racing demonstrations. Returning as part of the equestrian events are Jack Russell Terrier Races that test the dogs’ agility and speed.

Teenagers will enjoy watching Hell on Wheels the BMX biking stunt show. The group’s 16-foot vaults will leave you breathless, wondering how they got all that "air." In addition to their bike aerobatics, they have rollerblading and skateboarding daredevils to entertain and amaze.

"Trucking with an Attitude" is the theme of the monster trucks this year, named after WWF wrestling stars, the Undertaker and Steve Austin. If their roaring engines don’t satisfy you, wait around for the mayhem of the demolition derby. Road rage will take on a whole new meaning when these cars collide, smash and crash into one another, leaving only one vehicle moving. If you still hunger more action, be sure to come to the motorcycle races and the Pepsi truck and tractor pull.

And a fair wouldn’t be a fair without the pig and skunk races. Don’t worry thankfully the skunks are de-scented so the pigs will be the only ones running and squealing their way to the finish line.