By LESLIE MANNING
Tri-Rivers Fair Board
The Tri-Rivers Fair schedule may look different this year starting this Saturday and then running Tuesday through Aug. 6, after the 2021 decision to demolish the Tri-Rivers Stadium to make space for the construction of new tennis courts.
The Saline County Fair Association, however, created new opportunities using the spaces available at the Saline County Expo Center, and, as in the past, 4-H’ers living in Saline County working with K-State Research and Extension’s Central Kansas Extension District will participate in a complete line-up of fair competition and events.
The Tri-Rivers Fair Demolition Derby will launch the 2022 event, with pits open at 3 p.m., gates open at 6 p.m. and the show beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Salina Speedway, 2841 S. Burma Road. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $4 for children ages 6-12. The demolition derby will include four classes: limited weld, '80s and newer bone stock full size, bone stock compact, and mini van.
The derby is coordinated by the Championship Demolition Derby Association (CDDA), with head promoter Chad Markley at the helm of the association. Markley has built, drove and won at all levels of demolition derby shows for over 25 years across Kansas, the Midwest and nation-wide, earning respect from fair boards, promoters, fabricators and other demolition derby drivers. The CDDA is the group that will coordinate the demolition derby during the 2022 Kansas State Fair, and has a schedule of events across central Kansas, the state, and the Midwest. More information and registration for the Tri-Rivers Fair Demolition Derby can be found at www.cddademo.com.
Open Class exhibitors in home economics and horticulture can bring items for judging starting at the beginning of the fair week. Exhibitors wishing to enter judging competitions in floriculture and horticulture divisions will be entered on Aug. 2 between 8 a.m. and noon in Kenwood Hall at the Saline County Expo Center. All other open class exhibits can be registered between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Aug. 3.
The Tri-Rivers Fair parade will launch the fair events at 7 p.m. Tuesday with the theme Fancy Like … Fair Life! Ken Wasserman will serve as the grand marshal for the 2022 Tri-Rivers Fair Parade, which runs along Santa Fe Avenue, from Elm Street to Prescott Avenue. Early registration for being in the fair parade was due Friday, June 15, however, parade entries will be accepted at the fire station on Elm Street the evening of the parade, with check-in starting at 5:30 p.m.
WEEE Entertainment will open the Tri-Rivers Fair carnival at 6 p.m. Aug. 3, opening each day at 6 p.m. through Aug. 7. Commercial exhibits will run from Aug. 3 through Aug. 6 in the Great Plains Manufacturing Convention Hall of Tony's Pizza Events Center, with more than 20 businesses and organizations setting up informational booths daily.
The Tri-Rivers Fair royalty crowning will take place at 7 p.m. in the Great Plains Manufacturing Convention Hall of Tony's Pizza Events Center. King and queen candidates are nominated by each 4-H club in Saline County. Each will be recognized at the crowning, and first, second, and third place candidates will be announced. The 2023 Tri-Rivers Fair King and Queen, along with second and third place candidates, will help assist the distribution of awards during the 4-H and open class livestock competitions throughout the Tri-Rivers Fair.
The Community Showcase will take place from 3-8 p.m. Aug. 4 in the Great Plains Manufacturing Convention Hall of Tony's Pizza Events Center showcasing talent from the local area.
Aug. 4 will include evening activity geared just for kids. The Kids Pedal Tractor Pull, coordinated by M&C Pedal Power, will begin at 6:30 p.m. with registration at 5:45 p.m. outside of the Tony’s Pizza Events Center. The Kids Pedal Tractor Pull will include competition categories for kids ages 4-12, with trophies awarded. This is a qualifying event for the Kansas State Fair.
Kids can also get their face painted by face painters setting up shop outside of the Tony’s Pizza Events Center, and a Touch-A-Truck event will take place from 6-9 p.m. Aug. 4 in the parking lot south of Tony’s Pizza Events Center for kids to explore. The Touch-A-Truck event hopes to include a school bus, semi-truck and trailer from Isaacson Truckline, tractor from LandPride, equipment from LDI and other heavy equipment and emergency response equipment.
The Tri-Rivers Fair, in cooperation with Salina Cornhole, will host a corn hole tournament, starting at 6 p.m. Aug. 5 in the horse practice arena at the heart of the Saline County Expo Center. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. which includes a $40 registration fee. The tournament will be a double elimination tournament with prize money distributed to first, second, and third-place winners.
The final day of the Tri-Rivers Fair will wrap up with a free concert celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Peterson Farm Bros release of I’m Farming and I Grow It at 5 p.m. Aug. 6 in the Great Plains Manufacturing Convention Hall of Tony's Pizza Events Center, 800 The Midway. The concert will headline a full schedule of educational opportunities spanning the day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during a new event called an Inspiration and Innovation Showcase. The showcase will feature Saline County businesses and organizations presenting forward-thinking projects.
The line-up of educational presentations includes Cory McDaniel and Brent Sadler with WCCiT with information about cybersecurity; Emanuel Ashiedu from Salina Code Academy sharing classes available to teach computer coding; The Land Institute; Rolling Hills Zoo; the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce; Saline County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes presenting about the new Saline County app and ARPA funds distribution, and Jim Kowach with the City of Salina explaining the city’s goal to reduce solid waste. A legislative update featuring local representation and senators in the Kansas legislature will presented at noon on Aug. 6.
With the future on stage inside Tony’s Pizza Event Center, agriculture technology of the past will be displayed outside in the south parking lot of the event center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 6. The Kansas Tractor Club will host an antique tractor show and tractor games, with tractors arriving as early as 9 a.m.
The Tri-Rivers Fair concludes with the Draft Horse Pull at 7 p.m. Aug. 6 in Ag Hall at the Saline County Expo Center. Tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for children ages 6-12. Doors open at 6 p.m.
More information and updates regarding the Tri-Rivers Fair can be found at tririversfair.org