America marked its 250th year this July, but a celebrated heartland tradition and staple of Americana actually predates the Declaration of Independence by 11 years. That tradition, of course, is the county fair — an annual summer gathering that brings together agriculture and community. North American settlers established the first fair in modern-day America back in 1765, when the two-day York Fair, held in York, Pennsylvania, was celebrated.
As settlers laid down roots across the continent in the 19th century, the annual fair became more than a tradition; it was a necessity. The original purpose of the county fair was to serve as an educational agriculture hub, where farmers could share innovative techniques and demonstrate new technology, as well as display livestock. The agricultural roots of these burgeoning communities were fertilized by the information and resources shared at the fair.
Over the years, the county fair grew in commercial and entertainment interest. It became a special market to buy and sell goods, as well as an opportunity to get away from the day’s labor and chores. Attractions and entertainment sectors grew at the fair, especially through the 20th century. Nowadays, the fair is a place where all these elements play in harmony, drawing a diverse crowd of visitors from near and far, urban and rural.
While the Wisconsin Valley Fair doesn’t predate the United States, it has a long history of its own. The area’s first fair was hosted at Marathon Park by the Marathon County Agricultural Society on Sept. 25-26, 1868 — only 20 years after Wisconsin received statehood.
This year, the Wisconsin Valley Fair celebrates its 158th year, still at Marathon Park, from Aug. 4-9. While much has changed over a century and a half, the core purpose of the fair remains the same.
“The fair really is an opportunity to get together and celebrate the community,” fair administrator Jodi Langenhahn said. “Our agricultural roots are very important, so it’s great to see everyone come together and celebrate the community that is Central Wisconsin.”
Langenhahn, who also teaches at St. Mary’s School in Marathon City, has served as fair administrator since 2018. In those eight years, much has changed at the Wisconsin Valley Fair. One of the most notable improvements has been a greater variety in grandstand entertainment.
In 2018, the fair replaced one of five concert nights with a rodeo. The event was so popular that it grew to two nights. The rodeo remains one of the best attended events at the fair, providing family-friendly entertainment at no cost beyond general admission.
“It’s exciting to watch, it’s fun to watch. There’s a competitive spirit,” Langenhahn said. “And sometimes we have local people that are actually in the rodeo, so that makes it extra fun, too.”
Each night of the rodeo features about seven events, including breakaway roping, bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, bull riding and barrel racing.
“It’s really fast-paced and exciting,” Langenhahn said. “In the stands, I think every performance we’ve had has been, if not completely packed, it’s been very full. So there’s just this energy from the crowd, and it’s happening as the sun goes down. It’s just such a great event.”
The fair still features three nights of live music in the Grandstand. Organizers have found a steady formula that draws good crowds over the past years, Langenhahn said. They usually try to book one country act, one rock act and one legacy act. Following that formula, this year’s musical acts are Chris Janson, Skillet and Shenandoah. As of July 24, reserved seats for Skillet were sold out and reserved seats for the other two nights were about half sold each — which Langenhahn said is normal.
“We often see these last couple days to weeks people will pull the trigger and decide to come, so I think we’re very happy with the response we’ve had so far,” she said. “Sometimes you just never know what is going to work. In the past, we’ve been able to get up-and-comers, which is great. They’re a little more affordable, but also, sometimes if we book them in September and then they have a number one hit or something by the time they get here, they’re really popular. That’s great, but sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw.”
That’s right, musical acts are typically booked about 11 months in advance. Once the dust has settled and the air has cooled a little bit in September, fair organizers start work on next year’s festival. While a lot of the hustle and bustle is in June and July, planning the fair is a year-round effort.
“The reality is there’s a lot more work in the off-season than I think a lot of people realize,” Langenhahn said. “We have our annual meeting in November and there’s a state fair convention in January. By the time February, March comes, we’re looking at getting out our vendor contracts for next year already.”
The Wisconsin Valley Fair is one of the largest county fairs in the state. Thousands travel from around the area to visit historic Marathon Park each August.
“I think our location is really unique,” Langenhahn said. “Not many fairs take place in the middle of a city — in the middle of the woods. I think that’s kind of cool. We have a lot of historical buildings. Even the exhibition building is unique with its six wings.”
But even with a large fair, big name acts and plenty of overhead costs, fair organizers try to give fairgoers the best bang for their buck — especially as economic pressures continue to mount. For the price of admission — $9 in the morning, $13 in the afternoon — fairgoers are given the green light to more attractions than they may realize.
“We try to really give people a value for what they have here,” Langenhahn said. “All of our concerts, you can get in with your gate admission into that general seating. There are very few venues, I feel like, that you can just see the concert for the price that you would pay to get in the gate. We also have the animals on site and all the 4-H and Open Class exhibits. I think there’s around 10,000 exhibits every year. We also try to have some free entertainment, we always have the pig, duck and goat races; those happen three or four times most days and are really fun. We also partner with Marathon County Farm Bureau and they host our Ag Adventure Tent, which is full of interactive displays about agriculture, so that’s also a free event that a lot of families like to take part in.”
And as always, the fair concludes with the Demo Derby Dirt Dash on Sunday for an additional $6 for adults and $3 for kids.
But the fair isn’t just about funnel cakes and Ferris wheels. The original roots of the American county fair — a place to share agricultural, technical and artistic methods and work — is still alive and well at the Wisconsin Valley Fair. In fact, this old-time spirit is often best presented by the younger generations participating in 4-H exhibits.
The Wisconsin Valley Fair is a great place for Marathon County 4-H youth to showcase the projects they’ve worked on this past year, whether it’s selecting and raising an animal, learning a new craft or painting technique, building a LEGO structure, learning about wildlife ecology, creating an informational display or more. 4-H offers about 150 different categories of projects for county youth to pursue. There are 30 different 4-H clubs in Marathon County, and each year, 700 to 1,000 youth exhibitors contribute to the 10,000 exhibits shared at the Wisconsin Valley Fair.
“They don’t all make it to the fair, of course, but these are things that they do,” Langenhahn said. “Maybe they worked on an art project in school, they can even bring creative writing. Animals are a very visible one, but we also have cake decorating, and we even have a Fine Arts Showcase where they can prepare musical pieces and dancing pieces and they’re judged and perform at the fair.”
Similar to the fair organizers, 4-Hers commonly begin work on next year’s project right after the fair concludes.
“It’s the culmination of all the things we’ve done during the year and now we get to have a fun competition where we exhibit our things to a fair judge who then shares some comments, and sometimes ranks them, and then we get some feedback to help us learn for how to prepare for the next year,” said Holly Luerssen, Marathon County 4-H educator.
As 4-Hers work on their projects throughout the year, they learn valuable life skills like cooperation, resiliency, sharing, critical thinking and goal setting. But that’s not where the character building ends. Presenting at the fair, often in front of a judge, helps 4-H youth build self-esteem and communication skills.
“Many times I walk through different buildings and I get a joy out of seeing 4-Hers and their families talking to community members about the projects they entered in fair, what sparked their joy, and encouraging them to reach out and join Marathon County 4-H, too,” Luerssen said.
Those communication skills are put on full display as the 4-H exhibits weave into the broader tapestry of the fair. While the spinning carnival rides, grandstand concerts and deep-fried treats might be the initial draw for many visitors, the true heart of the Wisconsin Valley Fair is its ability to unite the entire region — merging modern summer entertainment with agricultural heritage.
“There really is something for everyone here,” Langenhahn said. “And if nothing else, just come and feel that community spirit and be part of this annual tradition of an event.”
The Wisconsin Valley Fair runs Aug. 4-9 at Marathon Park in Wausau. For more information, tickets and event schedule, visit wisconsinvalleyfair.com.
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