By Taylor Boyd
The sixth annual Henry County Fair will run Sept. 23-26 at Martinsville Speedway, featuring rides, food, live music, entertainment, agricultural exhibits and more.
The event is sponsored by VisitMartinsville, Henry County, the Henry County Department of Parks and Recreation, Bassett Furniture, B99.9, Southwestern Virginia Gas, West Piedmont Higher Education Center, Lawless Welding, Sarver Properties, Del. Eric Phillips and Roanoke Valley Orthodontics.
Henry County Parks and Recreation Director Roger Adams said the fair will offer a variety of rides, food, live music and other family-friendly entertainment.
“We’ve got a lot of cool stuff. We’ve got over 20 rides this year for all ages,” he said.
Adams said entertainment is a major feature of the fair, including two new ground shows this year. One is the Magic of Lance Gifford, which features a large tractor-trailer stage show.
“He’s never been here before, but he’s world famous,” he said.
The other new ground show is the Rock N Circus Show.
“He was here the first two years of the fair, and he’s got a little bit of a different show,” he said.
Adams said the fair will also feature a concert lineup with different artists taking the stage each night.
“Wednesday night is local night, and we have Slick Junior and the Reactors. Thursday is B99.9 night and we have Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson tribute bands, so that’s Wallen Nation and Lainey Nation,” he said.
Friday night will be Spirit FM night, with national recording artist Austin French, a Christian musician who performs Christian pop-style contemporary worship music, taking the stage.
“Of course we have all of the wonderful animals with Infinity Acres, the agriculture contest, and then all of the delicious fair food, prize games, and unlimited ride wristbands,” he said.
Adams said competitive exhibit contests and their various categories will also be available for viewing. Miss Henry County Fair will also be on-site.
While attendance is weather-dependent, Adams said he hopes about 5,000 people will attend.
“Each year so far, we’ve had weather at least one night, so that’s typically about what we have. I think we could have a lot more if the weather cooperates,” Adams said.
Gate admission is $5 and includes concerts, ground shows, the petting zoo, agricultural exhibits and fireworks.
Adams said ride wristbands cost $25 in advance and $30 on-site.
For ride wristbands or more information, visit www.henrycountyvafair.com.
