121st Athens World Fair

When food, farming, and fun come together, it must be time for the fair!
The Village of Athens is a small town in Marathon County covering just 2.45 square miles with a population of 1,190. Of this number, 823 are adults, 190 of whom are seniors. The median age is 44.2 years, and the median household income is $52,750.
But in a little town like Athens, the annual fair — billed the Athens World Fair — is a big deal, and it draws visitors to the fair from far beyond its village boundaries. Farmers and their families, rural residents of the outlying Athens area, and visitors from small communities surrounding the village and far beyond come out for this all-American event that combines all the best a small agricultural community has to offer. Some visitors are former area residents that come back year after year during fair time because it’s a part of their family and life tradition — their rural DNA. Others come to see their kids in one of the marching bands in the Sunday parade or to enjoy fair food like corn dogs, cheese curds, and ice cream. The kids come to see their friends and cousins and go on the rides. All find something to love.
Maybe it’s the nostalgia of the annual Athens Fair Queen being crowned. This year, Payton Neitzel won the crown after selling a record-breaking 15,782 tickets. The fair, incidentally, is free to attend.
Maybe it’s the chance to catch up with friends, family, and neighbors at the beer tent or walk around with their beer to watch the kids go on rides or try to win a teddy bear by picking a duck or popping a balloon.

Perhaps it’s the opportunity to see area young people showcase their hard work in fair entries and booths in the Community Hall, show sheep, goats, poultry, rabbits, and beef. Or to see horse pulls, to enjoy the meal at St. Anthony’s or the fireworks, to see a live band in the evening, or to watch the popular parade on Sunday afternoon where the kids scramble for the candy thrown from the floats.
Whatever the pull, parking in the village is at a premium during this event in a community that still closes down side streets to make room for the carnival and food tents and shuts down most of the streets in town for the Sunday parade. But there’s something so “rural-life” and “all-American” about that. It’s like getting a peek at a little piece of Americana that has continued for more than 120 years and hopes to continue for another 120 or more.
This year’s fair ran four days, Aug. 20-23, and packed in far more than fair royalty, rides, and the Sunday parade. Thursday’s opening day centered on the show ring, with the Jr. Fair Horse Show running all classes in the morning and a Miniature Horse Show that evening, while exhibitors spent the day getting their entries into the Community Hall and animals checked in for sheep, goat, poultry, and rabbit judging. The midway opened at 5 p.m. with a wristband special, and the night closed out with fireworks over Hwy. 97, sponsored by Peterson-Kraemer Funeral Home and the Belanger family.
Friday brought the bulk of the livestock judging, with beef, dairy, sheep, goats, poultry, and rabbits all evaluated over the course of the day, along with quilt judging, a dog show in the show ring, and breakfast served up at the Christ United Church stand and Truckin Good Food. The afternoon and evening rounded out with a state-sanctioned pedal tractor pull at the Village Hall and Library parking lot, bingo in the Commercial Building, a horse pull, the Old Timers Band performing at the Village Square, and the Fair Queen coronation on the stage by the new Village Hall. The Jerry Schmitt Band and Knockpoint played the beer tent that night.
Saturday added a Gladiolus Show, a 15th annual 5K fun run and walk, face painting by Dominique Fischer, Little Britches dairy showmanship, and a free concert by Jenni Williamson on the Free Act Stage. The evening featured draft horse carts and teams in the show ring, followed by an auction benefiting the Bluejay ACE Squad, with Whiskey & Lace and Night Shift performing at Landmark that night.
The fair closed Sunday, Aug. 23, but not before hosting its signature event, the Athens Parade, which featured no fewer than four marching bands, including the Merrill Bluejays’ Marching Jays and the Athens Bluejays, as well as floats and flags, Americana-themed decorations in honor of America’s 250th birthday year, tractors, horses, stilt walkers, fire trucks, antique and vintage automobiles, and lots more.
With school starting in the area very soon, the Athens World Fair is always a sign of the end of summer. But it’s a great way to bid it a fond farewell.