2026 Humboldt County Fair Field Trip!

Kelsey Flot
1 day ago
3 min read

We took our yearly "field trip" to the Humboldt County Fair last Saturday, July 25th. The heat advisories were starting about noon, so we really lucked out temperature wise being set up 8am-12pm. Humidity? Not so much. It was over 90% humidity when I checked. The sunshine stayed away til about the time everyone was packing up to leave at noon; that's when the bad heat started. Don't get me wrong, it was hot the whole time, but the breeze we got every now and then wasn't. We had a great crowd, live music with Cracked Reeds, and the most vendors we've ever had at the fair!

Cracked Reeds under shelter looking at a sea of vendor tents

Usually Sammi creates a vendor map, but for the fair we had it first come first serve with a general layout in mind. We basically made a huge square of vendors north of the shelter area with rows of vendors in the middle. I tried to get photos showing, but it was hard to do. We had 28 vendors set up! We're also seeing more and more produce, which is very exciting!

Our Vendors

It's kind of becoming a tradition to have our favorite saxophone quartet, Cracked Reeds, play at the fair. They set up in the shelter area and started about 10am and played nearly til noon. If you've yet to experience them play you're missing out. I really enjoy when I can sing along to the instrumental music...mostly in my head.

farmers market organizers receiving sponsor check from pat hill, humboldt lions club — Kelsey and Sammi receiving Humboldt Lion's Club sponsor check from Pat Hill

Of course we couldn't do it without our great sponsors! For the fair we were sponsored by the Humboldt Iowa Lion's Club and the Humboldt Veterinary Clinic. This year we were able to buy specific signage for the fairgrounds all because of our awesome sponsors! We had new banners printed for our big highway signs on hwy 3 and on hwy 169. Then we printed some realtor sized signs to be placed at each fair entrance and one by the 4-H food stand. All signs had arrows pointing towards our setup. In years past we've had to tape over our other signs. I was very thankful not to have that project this year!

The Humboldt County Fair had a lot going on during our 8am-12pm market hours. 4-H/FFA Swine Show started at 8am. The check in for the horticulture show ran the same time as our market and was in the building on the south side of us, but officially opened at 1pm. At 9am the North Event Center opened up with the 4-H exhibits, Lynn Anderson was outside doing live chainsaw art, and mud volleyball started inside the track. At 10am horseshoe tossing started right next to the market. All food stands and food trucks were open by the time we left at noon.

For kids activities we let the fairgrounds do the heavy lifting. Under the shelter area there is a corn pit area for kids. next to the shelter is an octagon area with balls that kids were getting a "kick" out of.

While nobody is thankful for the heat and humidity this time of year, we are so thankful for everyone who supports our vendors. Every year at the fair it gets busier and this year was no exception. I saw people showing up right at 8am to start shopping and there were people shopping as vendors were tearing down. It takes a lot for our vendors to prepare, set up, and endure the heat. We know it takes a lot for our community to leave their air conditioning, come find us, and shop; we are all so appreciative. Somehow we only have 4 markets left for the 2026 season. This year has really flown by!