57th Annual SOKY FAIR BG-WC Jaycees

The Southern Kentucky Fair Board, Inc. and the Bowling Green – Warren County Junior Chamber (Jaycees) will sponsor the 57th Annual SOKY Fair at the Jaycee Fairgrounds in Lampkin Park from July 20th – 26th.

The week’s festivities will begin on Sunday with a series of Beauty Pageants held at the Warren Central High School Auditorium. Winners from five of these pageants will advance to compete in the designated State Pageants. There is also a Beef Show scheduled for Sunday at the Ag Building inside the Fairgrounds.

Everything will be in full swing when the gates open at 6:00 pm on Monday, including a wide array of Carnival Rides provided by Myers International Midways from Florida. The Monday night track event will feature a Figure 8 Race. On Tuesday, a Goat & Lamb Show will take place in the Ag Building while a Motocross Event will be held at the track.

Fair goers will also enjoy a discounted admission price of $8 in addition to a Kids Zone area featuring numerous inflatable attractions on Monday & Tuesday nights. Pay One Price Admission to the Fair on Wednesday through Saturday nights will be $10. Wednesday will provide a Dairy Show in the Ag Building, and a Truck Pull at the track that evening.

A Truck Tug-O-War will be held at the track on Thursday night along with a Karaoke Contest on the Stages. Friday night will feature a Demolition Derby at the track and line dancing classes on the stages. The week’s festivities will wrap up on Saturday night with a Motorcycle Show to benefit St. Jude in the Ag Building, and another Figure 8 Race at the track.

For additional information bout the SOKY Fair and any of the events listed, please call the Fair Office at 270.842.7980 or 270.282.5838.

An event such as the fair requires numerous volunteers and countless hours of preparation and planning. Proceeds generated from the SOKY Fair are used throughout the year to fund the numerous other events sponsored by the Jaycees in the Bowling Green – Warren County community.

So what are some of those other events this organization sponsors? The Bowling Green-Warren County Jaycees are responsible for the Bowling Green Christmas Parade, which is held annually on the first Saturday of December in downtown. In addition, they conduct the Christmas for Kids Shopping Tour in which over one hundred children are taken shopping at Wal-Mart for clothing that they need as well as other things they have wished for at Christmas time. Allied Energy, Cutting Edge Lawn Care, and US Warehousing also help sponsor this event annually, which gives over $10,000 back to the children of our community.

The Jaycees partner with Nat’s Outdoor Sports to provide the Bikes for Kids program at Christmas time also. The BB Gun Shooter’s Education program is held each spring, offering children ages 8-15 the opportunity to participate in a shooter’s education course as well as try out for the BB Gun Team. The State BB Gun Championship Competition is sponsored by the Bowling Green Jaycees each April. A local team is then sent on to compete at the International BB Gun Match in July. In addition to these programs, the BG-WC Jaycees contribute to and help sponsor the Bowling Green Humane Society’s Critter Classic Golf Scramble and the St. Jude Dream Home and sponsor scholarships for each of the four area high schools, the Junior Miss Program, and an endowment at Western Kentucky University.

So what is this organization all about? The Bowling Green – Warren County Junior Chamber (Jaycees) gives young people between the ages of 21 and 40 the tools they need to build the bridges of success for themselves in the areas of: business development, management skills, individual training, community service, and international connections. A monthly membership meeting is held at the Pavilion inside the Fairgrounds at Lampkin Park on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, starting at 7:00 pm. The BG-WC Junior Chamber is a non-profit corporation / organization as described under IRS code 501 (c) (4).

About the Author:

Tara Griffith is President of the Southern Kentucky Fair Board and Past-President of the Bowling Green-Warren County Jaycees. For more information about the Jaycees organization, to become a member, or to contribute to one of the Jaycees programs mentioned in the article, please contact Tara by calling 842-6455 or e-mail taraagriffith@yahoo.com.

Photos by David Francis / SOKY Fair 2007