Danville - The 76th Boone County Fair was held at the Fairgrounds located at Lick Creek from August 4 - 9. Despite economic woes, rain and a slow start, by Friday and Saturday people were ready to come out and have a good time. The WQBE Rabbit was on hand to entertain and do live remotes.

Seth Bunning, BeBe Cole and Logan Darnell entertained the crowd on Tuesday night, which was the first night of the fair with an array of gospel songs.

Wednesday was Karaoke night with Roger Hudson. Despite the muddy conditions, around a dozen people competed in the three different age groups. The winners were:

12 and Under-1st Place Gloria Blair; 2nd Heather Dunlap; 3rd Taylor Stowers

13 to 18 Age Group- 1st Shayla Lovejoy; 2nd Steven Jeffrey

19 and Up- 1st Matt Clark; 2nd Jim Marcum; 3rd Sylvia Stowers

On Thursday The Boone County Stop Watch, whose vision is to stop substance abuse and watch Boone County families grow strong and their mission is to eliminate substance abuse and it devastating effects on Boone County sponsored my friend Sandy Sowell. Sandy is a former member of the Putnam Pickers and a 30-year thyroid cancer survivor. After quitting the Pickers she started a singing telegram service in Charleston that was little mini shows with characters such as Dolly Parton and Miss Piggy. She would pick one person whose birthday was on that day and put them in the spotlight for the day. Each person had their own original song written by Sandy for them. Sandy has also performed many of her shows for Southern and WVEA. She uses audience participation for all of her shows, which are based on the age group that she is working with. She was the first person to bring Karaoke to the forefront of entertainment in the state. She has been doing this for type of entertainment for 20 years. If you would like to contact Sandy, go to sandysowell.com. For more information about Stop Watch email stopwatch@regionalfrn.org or 414-4470

After Sandy's wonderful, fun and energized show, Rick K and the All Nighters, which is America’s most exciting show band took the stage. Their show consisted of a musical road trip from California to Detroit and places in between. They performed the hits “Run Around Sue”, “Wipe Out”, and “My Girl” to name a few. Rick K. and the All Nighters have played in State Fairs, Vegas, and for Nascar, the NBA, and the NFL. They have also completed their third album, entitled, “Get a Job” which features their most requested songs.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday DeWayne Hill was at the fair performing his magic tricks for kids young and old. He has performed for up to 3,000 people at a time. He offers a 45-minute act for comedy clubs and corporate functions and a 60 minute act for school programs. His shows are intended for everyone, therefore they have no offensive language, blue humor or overly obscene gestures.

On Friday, Gospel Flats from Chapmanville, WV opened up the entertainment with their bluegrass/gospel music. They are featured on WVOW Radio Station in Logan on Sunday mornings.

After the Gospel Flats, Adam D. Tucker and the Audio Outlaws took the stage. Adam has been performing all over the United States during the past year. He has a limited edition Pre Release CD out that has a song on it that he wrote called Once Upon a Time. The Sissonville, WV native has also been busy doing work in Nashville as well. To keep up with Adam and to contact him for bookings go to www.myspace.com/adamdtucker

Saturday is the busiest day for the fair. The 4-H kids had a hands on demonstration with alpacas. They had an obstacle course set up that they took the alpacas through. Chris and Rebecca Arnold from Ashford brought their alpacas in for people to see and pet. They also had on hand some items that were made from the alpaca wool. We would like to thank them for bringing them and hope to see them back next year. If you would like more information about the alpacas, you can contact them at 304-836-5035 or visit www.gsfalpacas.com

The cutie contest was held on stage at 2:00 p.m. that day, despite the heat, there was a good turnout for the event. Winners were:

0 – 11 Months- 1st Madyson Williams, 9 months; 2nd Olivia Bushko, 7 months; 3rd Jonna Wright, 7 months

12 – 23 Months-1st Emma Frye, 16 months; 2nd Ava Prince, 21 months; 3rd Kailee Hunt

24 – 35 Months- 1st Brooke Christian; 2nd Alyssa Schultz; 3rd Breanna Miller

36 – 47 Months- 1st Jacie Stollings; 2nd Kaydence Britton; 3rd Gabrielle Jefferson

4 year old girls- Kimberlynn Kirk

4 year old boys- 1st Jonathan Christian; 2nd Ethan Howell

In the 23 years of the baby contest, this was the first time that a brother and sister were in the running for the grand marshal for next years parade. The grand marshal is the high point participant from all of the first place winners. The Grand Marshal Winner was Ethan Howell; last year’s winner Miss Tori Honaker crowned him.

Also on Saturday winners were decided on for the Salsa Contest as well as the Arts and Crafts Division.

Salsa Winners were:

1st Phyllis Baldwin

2nd Donna Johnson

3rd Melanie Green

The Boone County Fair Board Members would like to congratulate all of the participants and winners in the Arts and Crafts contest. There was a total of 170 entries in this years contest.

Also on Saturday, the Rotary Club held their annual auction to raise money for scholarships for Boone County Students.

For the entertainment a new rhythm and blues band from Chapmanville, WV performed for the first time for the Boone County Fair and they were a hit. Top Shelf is the hottest band in southern West Virginia in the past 30 years. They performed hits like, “Mustang Sally”, “Brick House”, and “Purple Rain”. The band has only been performing together for 7 months. Look for Top Shelf at next years fair if you didn’t make it to this one. You can listen to some of their work on www.myspace.com/topshelf and book them for parties.

After Top Shelf wowed the crowd, Randy Houser came out and performed some of his hits, “Boots On” and “Anything Goes”, really got the crowd into his performance. His song “Boots On” is a top 10 video on the iTunes Country Chart. He also has a cd out titled Anything Goes with the songs: Lie, Back to God, Wild Wild West, Something Real, My Kinda Country, Strange, Paycheck Man, How Many Times, and I’ll Sleep.

The fireworks summed up the entertainment with an awesome show in the nighttime sky thanks to Pyrotecnics.

Sunday was the official last day of the fair with the Motorcycle and Car Show. Registration began at noon for this event. Despite the heat, the turn out for participants was outstanding for both of the events. We would like to thank all who participated in these events and hope to see you again next year.

The winners in the motorcycle division were:

Touring:1st Debbie Bowes; 2nd Skip Wooten

Cruiser: 1st Chance Harrison; 2nd Todd Lucas; 3rd Jim Bo Bob

Modified: Breonia LeeAnn (Baby Girl)

Best of Show: David Browning

Car Show Under Construction:

1st Wayne Withrow; 2nd Jeremy Graley; 3rd Ray Wolford

Antique: 1st Richard Gragg; 2nd Gibbie Carter; 3rd Steve Patten

Truck: 1st Steve Fowler; 2nd Richard Jeffrey; 3rd Sonny Harvey

Tuner: 1st Darin McCord; 2nd Jeremy Whitt; 3rd Darren Hall

Classic: 1st Bob Williams; 2nd John Adkins; 3rd Greg Sigmon

Hot Rod: 1st David Smith; 2nd Johnny Thurmond; 3rd Justin Akers

Club Participation:Twisted Hillbillys

Best of Show:David Crockett.