Are you going to Bangor State Fair?
Forget the parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, but you’ll definitely want to season your fair visit with the thrills of the Demolition Derby, the Freestyle MX Motocross Show and the Freestyle Snowmobile Show.
Mix that with Wild About Monkeys, Paul Bunyan Lumberjacks and the Disc-connected K-9s show, and what you get is the sizzling point for area summer entertainment.
For added zing, partake of the rides, favorite midway foods and games, and the agricultural aspects of the 4-H livestock show. The fair runs Friday through Sunday at Bass Park.
The Freestyle MX Motocross Show takes place at 3, 5, 6:30 and 8 p.m. Friday, July 25, and at 2, 3:30, 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, July 26. The show is back by popular demand and will appeal to anyone with even the smallest streak of dare-deviltry in them.
The Demolition Derby will roar onto the fairgrounds at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, July 31-Aug. 1, and is open to smash-’em-up drivers age 18 and older who hold a valid driver’s license.
Drivers supply their own cars. Four-cylinder compact-size stock hardtop automobiles, station wagons and hatchbacks are allowed. Minivans will compete in their own special heat on July 31. Drivers will be competing for a $1,500 purse. Those contemplating entry will find rules and other information at www.stoneyroberts.com.
The Freestyle Snowmobile Show will go airborne over jumps and obstacles at 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2. In December 2006, stunt rider Jimmy Blaze, who grew up in Alaska, set a ramp-to-dirt long-distance back-flip record of 102 feet.
The Paul Bunyan Lumberjacks will hack and hew at 12:30, 3:30 and 6 p.m. each day of the fair. Learn about lumberjack history as performers demonstrate chopping, speed climbing, log rolling, ax throwing and chain-saw carving. There’s never a dull moment in this show.
Wild About Monkeys is set for adventure at 1:30, 4:30 and 7 p.m. each day of the fair. Baboon trainer Kevin Keith has a degree in exotic animal training from Moorpark College in California. Baboons he has trained have appeared in the film “Evan Almighty,” on television and in commercials. He believes that a live animal encounter should be entertaining, as well as meaningful and educational.
Disc-connected K-9s will show how bite is better than bark when it comes to snatching flying disks out of the air.
The talented, athletic dogs appear daily at 2:30, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. with trainer Lawrence Frederick, a former Frisbee world champion.
His dogs are some of the best flying-disk snatchers in the world. Nearly all of the dogs were abandoned, homeless or humane society residents before Frederick adopted them.
The dogs, Aero Dynamic, Happy Girl, Flash, Harley Davidson, Easy Rider, Zorra and Leaping Lucy range in age from 12 years old to 10 months. When Frederick’s dogs aren’t performing, some work as volunteer pet therapy animals at hospitals and convalescent and assisted living facilities in Florida.
Seasoned fair-goers know to take advantage of Wristband Days Monday through Wednesday, July 28-30, when an unlimited ride wristband is $20 after fair admission of $7, $5 senior citizens, $3 children 12 and under. On-site parking is $4.
A special fair week treat is Dollar Day on Sunday, Aug. 3, when admission for all ages is $1 and all mechanical ride tickets are $1.
Another fair bargain is Young at Heart Day on Thursday, July 31, when admission to patrons age 60 and over is $1. “You’re never too old to have fun at the fair” is the proof of the pudding that day.
To keep the youngest fair-goers entertained, Grandpa Cratchett and Friends will appear daily throughout fair week. Grandpa, “a fancy puppet,” will drive around the fairgrounds in his Old-time Huckster Wagon. Children can stand on the running board, shake hands with Grandpa and hear a joke.
Families with toddlers tagging along can take them to Toddler Games Driving School in the Bangor Civic Center each day of the fair. This event is for children ages 1 to 4.
They will have the opportunity to drive pedal cars, motorcycles and farm tractors and to push buggies. Parents act as official driving coaches. Their children will learn traffic safety, how to make left- and right-hand turns, back up, stop and parallel park. Toddlers will be awarded a “driver’s license” for their efforts.
The 4-H activity schedule is:
Saturday, July 26
. 1 p.m. dog show.
. 3 p.m. lamb chili cook-off.
. 3-6 p.m. 4-H Day with many activities scheduled.
Sunday, July 27
. Noon beef show.
. 3 p.m. beef judging contest.
Monday, July 28
. Noon-5 p.m. sheep show.
Wednesday, July 30
. Noon-5 p.m. open dairy competition.
Thursday, July 30
. Noon market lamb show.
Friday, Aug. 1
. Noon-5 p.m. open dairy competition.
. 6:30 p.m. livestock auction.
Saturday, Aug. 2
. Noon goat show.
Sunday, Aug. 3
. Noon horse show.
Other fair attractions are the WTOS-FM 105.1 “Rock Relief” show at 7 p.m. Monday, July 28; the WQCB-FM 106.5 Colgate Country Showdown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 30; and antique tractor pulls at noon Sunday, Aug. 3.
The fair opens each day at noon and closes at 10 p.m.
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