Races, derbies, concerts highlight entertainment

Published 12:02 pm Wednesday, February 20, 2013

ROME TOWNSHIP — While the tradition of country bands, demolition derbies and motocross continues at this summer’s Lawrence County Fair, fair board members are also adding a new event to bring out the race car driver in every fairgoer out there.

Tuesday night of fair week will be the inaugural Figure 8 race where small compact cars are driven around in laps to form a figure 8.

“The last car running will get the $5,000 top prize,” Fair board president Jim Thompson said. “And that night we will have a car in the infield and we will see which car can hit it the hardest.”

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The winner of that will get a $1,000 prize.

This year the fair will run for nine days instead of the usual seven, opening on Friday, July 5. Fair board officials want to have a truck-pulling contest that night but are still firming up the details of that event.

Saturday will be one of two demolition derbies with Motocross on Sunday.

Monday will be the Philip Fox band.

“They do a variety of songs in a four-hour show,” Thompson said. “They will sing for two hours, take a break and then come back.”

Wednesday will be the David Lee Murphy country music band with the local group, Generation and Jimmy Lundy opening.

Thursday, the traditional evening for the headliner, will feature Chris Cagle, a top Nashville artist known for chart songs including “My Love Goes on and On,” “What a Beautiful Day,” and “What Kinda Gone.”

Corky Graham’s band, “Upside Down,” will open.

Friday night will be the rodeo and closing night on Saturday the larger demolition derby with a $10,000 payout.

Fair officials also want to encourage amateur singers to perform each day.

“What I am going to try to do is have singing every day like high school kids or college kids,” Thompson said. People who want to come up and sing. Maybe have them behind the grandstand or maybe a tent set up where kids can participate. But we are not restricting this to high school children. I would like to open it to people who have a group and want to sing.”

The receipts from the gate on Friday will go exclusively to pay down the expense of building the fair barn that was new last year. Right now $700,000 is owed on the project with the majority of funds coming from pledges made about a year ago.

“We want to take that money and add that to the barn,” Thompson said. “(Pledges) are coming in OK at this point. We have had some people who have started to pay on their pledges and it is looking good.”

Anyone interested in participating in any of the events can contact Thompson at 304-544-5255.