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New events this year include a kids (16 and under) garden tractor pull Thursday, July 9, at 5 p.m. Entry forms must be filled out in advance, they are available at Jerry's Auto Body, and also will be available in the Fair book.
Also new this year is the Mid-Missouri Off-Roaders Mud Run Friday, July 10. Several classes will be featured, people can check out www.mmor.com for detailed information and official rules. Drivers interested in participating in the mud run are encouraged to arrive early, inspections and registration will be from 2-6 p.m., and the main event begins 6:30 p.m.
Barrel racing in addition to the bull riding is Saturday, July 11, at 4:30 p.m. The addition of barrel racing is expected to draw top area riders, Lackey added.
"The Fair Board is looking forward to our Fair's first ever mud run." Lackey remarked. "It is something we have heard a lot of exciting things about. We are also eager to see the cowboy mounted balloon shoot for the first time in this area - it is something not a lot of people have seen and we expect a lot of new interest after crowds see this show."
The cowboy mounted balloon shoot will be Sunday, July 12, beginning at noon. It is something brand new to the area and it features riders on horseback shooting black powder blank cartridges from pistols, at balloons, and is scored on accuracy and time.
Also on July 12 is a Nintendo Wii tournament in the beer garden at 2 p.m. Lackey said the family pavilion has added new events this year including music by No Signal, a Ronald McDonald Magic Show, Kincaid puppet show, Family Martial Arts demonstration and a turtle race.
Lackey said the Fair Board is excited about the Chris Cagle concert on Saturday. Cagle was voted one of "Country Music's Hottest Bachelors" by Country Weekly readers earlier this year.
"We expect an energetic performance and large crowd," she noted. "He is a well-known country artist with several top 10 hits and is known for bringing passion and energy to his live shows."
Other highlights include music in the beer garden, Pilot Grove July 10 and Dick and Jane July 11; the Franklin County Fair queen contest July 9 and the pig scramble that same night. The Fair queen contestants are Sarah Vondracek, Ashlee Messex, Heidi Stahlman, Krystin Lakebrink, Shelby Enke and Marianne Emery.
Lackey said the board is now working hard to prepare the grounds to be ready for the events that are less than a month away.
"The board is working on improving the fairgrounds and the Fair building," Lackey said. "The city of Union has worked hard to maintain the facilities throughout the year and it is now the board's turn to make improvements and repairs in anticipation of the crowds that will either return to the fairgrounds or visit for the first time."
Chris Cagle
Cagle moved to Nashville in 1994 and his earliest songs were published by famed Nashville songwriter Harlan Howard. He later got a publishing deal and placed some of his songs with David Kersh.
His first single, "My Love Goes On and On" reached the country charts in July 2000 and made it to the Top 20. His first album, "Play It Loud," followed shortly later. The album made it onto country charts and one track "Laredo" made the country Top 40.
Cagle released a self-titled album in 2003 and "Anywhere but Here" in 2005. "My Life's Been a Country Song" was released last year.
According to CMT.com, Cagle was born on Nov. 10, 1968, in DeRidder, La. When he was 4, his family moved to the outskirts of Houston. The son of an Exxon supervisor, Cagle began guitar lessons at age 6 but gave up after a year. He took piano lessons throughout high school and began playing guitar again after receiving an Ovation acoustic guitar for Christmas during his senior year. The first song he learned to play was Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird."
Cagle enrolled in the University of Texas-Arlington and many nights were spent performing in Texas clubs. He moved to Nashville in 1994, spending the next five years performing odd jobs.
His writing vastly improved after meeting writer Harlan Howard, who taught Cagle how to write a country song. Howard was so impressed with his student's efforts that he was the first to publish one of Cagle's songs.
