The 112th edition of the annual Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson is underway. The 10-day event includes livestock exhibitions and competitions, amusement rides, food exhibitions, fried foods, a celebrity grape-stomping competition, and live music.
It's a wet & chilly opening day for the fair, featuring exhibits from 4-H’ers, vendors selling their wares, culinary options, exhibits of giant vegetables & pumpkins, pig races, the butter sculpture, and carnival rides on the midway.
Organizers expect the fair to draw 350,000 people during its run for a week-and-a-half, making it the largest single event held in the state of Kansas. The Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson spans 280 acres.
The first "official" Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson was in 1913. The venerable ride known as "Ye Old Mill" has been around since 1915.
Friday activities on "Young at Heart Day" have included an Opening Day Ceremony, a ribbon-cutting for the New Canopy, and a Champion Livestock Show. Other events on opening day include barn tours, a milking parlor demonstration, chainsaw and woodcarver demonstrations, goat showmanship, a birthing center, as well as rabbit and pigeon displays.