SOKY fair is coming to town in July
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The SOKY Fair is coming to town in July, and fair board members expect this year to be bigger and better than ever after having to cancel several portions of the fair last year.
Last year, the fair was open, but due to COVID-19, there were no rides and no animal showings like usual.
“It had a different feel to it. It didn’t really feel like the fair, so we’re excited to get back to normal,” said Alex Marlin, a SOKY Fairgrounds board member.
The event usually brings in about 20,000 people, but last year it only brought in about half of that.
This year, everything is back to normal.
Kids who have been prepping to show their poultry, cattle and other animals for two years now will finally have the chance to do so, according to Janet Turley, a Warren County extension agent for 4-H and youth development.
“Everybody loves animals and so I think the public, this is a great opportunity to educate our public about kids and livestock and they’ll have the opportunity to I’m sure be able to come up and with permission to touch the animals and just see the animals,” said Turley.
According to Marlin, this year’s festivities are expected to be large with more food vendors and even more rides and automotive events.
“People are ready to get back out and ready to have something to do. And so, we’ve already started doing some promoting on social media and that sort of thing and we are getting a huge reception from that. And we expect a big event. I mean we expect a big fair and for things to be even bigger than they were pre-COVID,” said Marlin.
And the event is COVID-safe according to Marlin.
“The SOKY Fair is an outdoor event so even if you have some concerns, we’re outside. You have plenty of room to social distance,” said Marlin.
Marlin says the ride companies also do a great job of keeping the rides sanitized for the safety of fair-goers.
The SOKY Fair will be open from July 19 through until July 24 in Bowling Green and is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Bowling Green Jaycees.
