The 2026 Wood County Fair is in the books after a week of good crowds, leadership and life lessons, entertainment and activities galore, and friendships gained, renewed and strengthened.
It’s tough to capture the entire essence of the eight-day Wood County Fair in stories and photographs. For all the senior and junior fair board members, livestock exhibitors, concessionaires, volunteers, vendors, and organizations who bring the fairgrounds to life each summer, the days are long, but the rewards are plenty.
Here is a glimpse into some of the extra moments captured during the week.
So… Cheers to the fair—to the lessons learned in and out of the showring, to the new friendships gained and the reunions that bring us all back together, and mostly to the annual reminder of all that’s good in our Wood County community.
Wood County Fair Board President Paul Perry hangs a welcome banner near the front of the fairgrounds—just one example of all the behind-the-scenes work that is done by junior and senior fair board members, fair staff and volunteers to get the grounds ready for the influx of exhibitors and visitors to the fair.Members of Bowling Green State University’s ROTC program presented the colors and helped raise the flags for the dedication of three new flagpoles at the fairgrounds’ main entrance on Sunday, Aug. 2.
New entrance flagpoles honor veterans, service members
The Wood County Fair dedicated three new flagpoles at the main entrance of the fairgrounds on Sunday, Aug. 2, in honor of Wood County veterans.
“These flagpoles will stand as a lasting reminder of the courage, sacrifice and commitment to our country by the men and women who serve our nation and protect the freedoms that we enjoy every day,” said Fair Board President Paul Perry during the ceremony.
The American flagpole will include the flag of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action. “Since World War II, more than 83,000 men and women that have answered this nation’s call to service are still classified as prisoners of war or missing in action,” Ohio Rep. Haraz Ghanbari said during the ceremony.
The two other flagpoles will display the Ohio state flag and the America 250 flag, “as we celebrate the semi-quincentennial of 250 years of everyday Americans dedicating their life and service to their communities, to their state, and to our nation,” Ghanbari said. “The Ohio flag stands as a testament to what makes Wood County great.”
The project, initiated by new Fair Board Director Dan VanVorhis and assisted by Ghanbari, was supported by the Perrysburg American Legion, Bowling Green VFW, Crawford Landscaping, K&K Concrete and others.
Auctioneer Steve Powell looks for bidders as Junior Fair Board member Dakota Blasius shows Donna Moser’s focaccia bread, which earned Best of Show honors. More than $1,500 was raised during the Baked Goods Auction on Monday, Aug. 3.Fair volunteer Abby Cloud watches former Wood County Fair Board Director Kalen Bloom, Noah Babcock of Babby’s Baked Taters food truck and Jim Rhegness of Off the Rails Food Trolley judge some of the art-inspired dishes in the fair’s Great Meal Make-Off.
Art-inspired food
The Wood County Fair’s Great Meal Make-Off celebrated art through food with participants preparing dishes inspired by famous paintings such as Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” (soups worthy of mass production) and Monet’s “The Artist’s Garden in Argenteuil” (appetizers using items found in a garden). Jessica Susor entered the competition for the first time, in part, because her family, the Bechsteins, have a long history with the fair. “It’s really important to support the things you don’t want to go away,” she said, so she encouraged her entire family to enter everything from fine art and collectibles to flowers and food.
Karen and Keith Brueggemeier watch (and help a bit) as their granddaughter makes the rounds in the ever-popular Farm to Market exhibit. In the second year of operation, the activity is designed to help children (and adults) understand the connection between agriculture and the food they eat. Initiated by Fair Board Director Deanne Corken and her family, Farm to Market pays tribute to the inspiration behind the exhibit, their parents and grandparents, Darrell & Ruth Ann Hentges, Lawrence & Helen Brinker, and O.C. & Lena Hentges.The first Hippie Hoppers Hop-Off was a hopping success on Thursday, Aug. 6. Many of the rabbits needed coaxing to hop over the one- and two-bar hurdles, but that didn’t stop them from talking to the bunnies, tapping their bottoms and placing their front paws on the bar. According to 4-H Advisor Amy Dauer, who organized this year’s event, participants had so much fun that she plans to encourage more youth to work with their rabbits on hopping skills to compete in the second Hippie Hoppers Hop-Off at the 2027 fair.Hayley Miller, a member of Leaders of Tomorrow 4-H Club, washes her grand champion crossbred dairy feeder in preparation for champion photos. She also had the reserve champion crossbred dairy feeder.Sheriff Stretch is a popular midway performer, returning to the fair this year to make balloon creations for young and old alike.A fun kid’s activity this year was a passport of sorts, where young visitors could get signatures after visiting certain areas of the fair. A group of Dunn’s Kiddie Kare kids saw J. Penny, a sheriff’s deputy on duty at the fair, and swarmed him for his “autograph.’ He obliged with a smile and a handful of signatures.The horse department is practically a fair of its own. A variety of junior fair and open class horse shows are scheduled throughout every day of the fair. Pictured are contestants in one of Tuesday’s English classes.Horses were also part of the Wood County Fair Harness races, which were canceled on Sunday because of the threat of weather. The races were held on Monday evening and Wednesday morning. Pictured is Emanuel Miller driving Dublins Striker out in front in the three-year-old colt trot on Monday evening.Fair Board President Paul Perry had a fun idea to celebrate Hump Day at the Wood County Fair. He planned to walk a camel from the petting zoo around the fairgrounds and hand out Hump Day stickers. The camel wasn’t in the mood, but Perry still walked around sans camel and handed out the fun stickers.Wood County Fair Senior Day is filled with senior citizens who enjoy the free sheriff department golf cart rides to all corners of the fair, delightful musical entertainment, like the Wood County Committee on Aging’s Lively Voices group (pictured above), a whole host of local officials who are there to lend a helping hand, a free lunch, snd the opportunity to win door prizes throughout the day.Penta Career Center hosts the Science Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) Day at the fair. Among this year’s activities, youth explored hands-on activities such as creating a catapult with wooden sticks, rubber bands and a spoon. The goal was to launch a Velcro ball at the target, hoping to hit the center 100 mark.Former Fair Board Director Jessica Nagel stayed involved with the fair by helping with Story Time every afternoon (Monday-Friday) in the Fine Arts Building.For 22 years, the Northwest Ohio Woodworkers Guild has been part of the Wood County Fair, offering demonstrations in the Fine Arts Building. One of the favorite activities is the Kids Tool Box Workshop, where members of the guild help youth make their own wooden tool box.As part of BGSU Day at the Fair, the BGSU marching band performed on the midway before marching onto the racetrack to play the national anthem before the start of the rodeo.President Rodney K. Rogers was on the grounds for lunch and interviews with BGSU alumni and fair royalty. BGSU athletes and Football Coach Eddie George greeted fair visitors at the front gate and then George got the rodeo crowd ready for Friday evening’s entertainment.T-T Rodeo ropers hosted a rodeo clinic for kids to get them excited for Friday night’s big-time rodeo where professional cowboys and cowgirls competed for prize money. Approximately 20 kids participated in the clinic to learn how to rope, ride a stick pony on a barrels course and visit the bulls and horses that were part of the rodeo.The Wood County Junior Fair Livestock Showcase and Sale is the culmination of all the time, effort and hard work junior fair members have put in caring for their animals. Pictured is Audrey Anderson, Banners and Beyond 4-H Club, and her turkey, Jessie, which was named the 2026 Grand Champion Turkey. The turkey sold for the record price of $3700.
Donors show up to support junior fair youth
The Wood County Junior Fair Livestock Showcase and Sale is the culminating event for all the youth who show livestock at the fair – from the top showmen and champions to the 4-H members who are in their final year of junior fair competitions.
Each year the donors—family members, local businesses and individuals—show up big time to support the junior fair youth. They also raise their bid numbers at the 4-H Bake-Off on Friday night, but the biggest show of support is at the livestock sale.
As Wood County Honor Court representative Avalynn Stearns announced, “We are all here to support the kids. …and there’s a ton of them, a ton of champions, reserve champions and members in their last year of 4-H.”
At the close of the live auction, for a second consecutive year, Ohio Rep. Haraz Ghanbari and Bates Recycling owner and founder Chris Bates shaved their heads after donors bid nearly $12,000 to see the two local “celebrities” shorn with sheep shears. Funds raised will go to support the James Cancer Center at Ohio State University. And according to Ghanbari, a good number of junior fair youth open their hearts and donate their sale funds to the cause. Last year, Ghanbari and Bates started the effort in support of Addison, a 4-H member who was going through treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma.
With the live auction over, the online sale is now open until at least 5 p.m. on Friday (Aug. 14).
The online premium add-on auction allows community members and buyers to support local 4-H and FFA youth through monetary contributions and bid “add-ons.” The online sale can be found at https://fairentry.com/OnlineAuction/Index/23233/#/fair/23233.
