BANGOR – Each year people from all over Maine converge on Bass Park for the annual Bangor State Fair. Fairgoers at the 154th fair will be able to get up close and personal with large cats from all over the world, take a futuristic mission to Mars or go to see John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band.

“We’ve got a really good lineup of new and improved attractions throughout the week,” said Mike Dyer, Bass Park director.

Admission to the fair, which is set for July 25-Aug. 3, is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for children 12 and under.

All live music is free with admission. Performances will be held at a new natural amphitheater created recently by a construction project and located behind the grandstand.

“We’ve never had anything quite like this before,” said Dyer. “We have access to a stage now that’s covered, so if it rains the show will still go on. People can sit on the slope and enjoy the music.”

There is a variety of music planned for the event, including Cafferty and the country music band Ricochet.

“John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band played at the fair two or three years ago and they just tore the house down,” said Dyer. “They were fun. Ricochet is another band that should draw a crowd.”

There will be live music eight nights during the fair and all of the music will begin at 8 p.m. on the music stage.

Inkas Wasi will kick things off with a July 26 performance of Peruvian music. Hampden’s Nealley’s Corner will play Christian music on July 27 and the Alley Cats will offer do-wop ’50s a cappella for shows at 5 and 8 p.m. July 28. The Don Campbell Band will play country July 28 and Ricochet will perform July 30. Rock funk group Groove Wheel plays July 31, the Down Home Bluegrass Band will perform Aug. 1 and John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band will hit the stage Aug. 2.

Along different lines, Mad Science Productions, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and NASA will present the Mad Mission to Mars: 2025.

“It’s an actual journey to Mars in 2025 and what it might look like,” said Dyer.

He said the audience participates in an astronaut training session and will “brave the challenges and share the wonder of space expeditions – past, present and future – in this theatrical journey to Mars.”

Live action, 3-D computer animation and theatrical effects are used to make the journey to Mars memorable. The missions will take place inside the Bangor Civic Center with Professor Pruvitt, sidekick Kelvin and “robonaut” WD-4D.

There are five Mad Mission to Mars: 2025 shows each day of the fair except for opening day, which will have two shows; and closing day, which will have four shows.

Great Cats of the World is a showcased exhibit that is sponsored by the Bridgeport Nature Center, home to 65 large endangered felines, many of which were abused or mistreated by former owners.

“We tour the nation with our educational show and our photos to fund the refuge, as well as help teach people about big cats and the environment we share,” a promotional letter from the refuge states.

Royal white Bengal tigers from India, which are two of only 200 in the world, are the featured cats. The list also includes Bengal tigers, lions, leopards, panthers, cougars and a Siberian tiger from Russia. For a fee, people may have their photo taken with a big cat. The exhibit will be set up beside the auditorium, by the front gates.

Entertaining people on the center stage, located behind the grandstand, will be canine comic Johnny Peers with Muttville Comix. Returning to the stage in Bangor are The Bravo Brothers, who entertain audiences wit comedy. The duo performed last year and are back by popular demand. The entertainers will perform three shows a day except opening day, where the performers will do two shows. All shows are free with paid admission.

The fairgrounds will open at 6 p.m. Friday, July 25, with a ribbon cutting, and at noon daily for the rest of the fair.

Gates will close at 10 p.m. daily, but those who are already inside the fairgrounds at that time may stay until the midway closes. Closing times will vary according to crowds.

Keeping the cost of attending the Bangor State Fair as low as possible is a goal for the event, said organizers, who also said they don’t want the economy impeding people’s rights to have fun.

“First and foremost we’re making a real effort to make it affordable so more people can come more than once,” Dyer said. “We’re holding three wristband days in which people will have the option to buy unlimited rides for $12.”

Wristband days are Tuesday, July 29; Wednesday, July 30; and Thursday, July 31.

There also is a Young at Heart Day on Monday, July 28, where those over age 60 get into the fair for $1.

“The other thing we have done, in conjunction with the Bangor Daily, is on the last day of the fair from noon to 8 p.m. we’ll have $1 admission and all rides are $1,” said Dyer. “We felt with everything that is happening in the economy, with the paper mills, that we should pay more attention to families.”

Dyer said he hopes families will experience all aspects of the fair.

“If we can entice people to come more than once, they can spend time in the agricultural area and exhibits,” he said. “The way we have it set up you have to be dedicated to get out there [to the exhibitions and 4-H area].”

This year’s fair will include contests for everything from canning to needlework and crafts. These can be seen in the exhibit hall, under the grandstand. 4-H Day activities will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 26.

And no state fair would be complete without the Eastern Maine Rabbit Breeders, Old MacDonald’s Farm, hay wagon rides or the grandstand Yankee Hitch show with six massive draft horses pulling a restored freight wagon. There also will be traditional agricultural events, with oxen pulling, horse pulling and beef judging.

The Bangor State Fair, like many others around the nation, is steeped in history and has long roots tied to agriculture. For years, one person ran the agricultural show and anyone who was involved in agriculture knew his name. Sadly, Donald “Donnie” Dorr passed away in May. This year’s fair is dedicated in his memory.

“Donnie was agricultural superintendent for more than a decade and had been involved with the fair for many years before that,” said Dyer. “He was basically a one-man show. Donnie’s commitment to agriculture was a way of life. He was tireless at showing agriculture in the best light.”

The Bangor State Fair is known around the state as a midway or carnival fair. However, Dyer said, many people, especially children, don’t remember the rides or the games as much as they remember Old Macdonald’s Farm and the 4-H events.

“They remember a calf being born, and the size of a draft horse,” he said. “We’re hoping to make it one of our best agricultural shows ever. That’s probably the ultimate tribute to Donnie.”

Firework shows will be held at 9:30 p.m. on opening night, Friday, July 25; and at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, to mark the end of the fair.

For tickets, call 990-4444. For information, check the Web at www.bangorstatefair.com.