The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair returns this Friday, August 11th and will run through Saturday, August 19th. This will be the 74th annual fair and it’s third year back after having to cancel for the first time in its 70+ year history in 2020 due to Covid restrictions. Discount days at the fair include “Family Days” on Monday, Aug. 14, and Wednesday, Aug. 16, with $25 all-day rides, “Senior Day” on Tuesday, Aug. 15, that includes free admission to seniors 62+ until 5pm, and “Military Day” on Thursday, Aug. 17, which allows for free admission for active military in uniform or with a valid military ID through 5pm.
Make sure to join us opening night for the Fifth Annual Fair Foodie Awards, which will take place at 6pm at the seating tent across from the souvenir booth. Guest judges will include Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones and MoCoShow founder “Mr. MoCo” Alex Tsironis. Last year’s Foodie winners included Cajun Chicken on a Stick and Cotton Candy Lemonade.
Food vendors/concessions this year include Aunt Betty & Uncle Bubbas, Blondies Doughnuts, Butlers Orchard, Carnival Treats Turkey Legs, Chocolate Moonshine, Churros Inc., Colossal Onions & Funnel Cake, Del Girasol Colombian Bakery, Demetri’s Greek Foods, Don Julios, Little Austria, New Orleans Style Snow Balls, Outlaw Kettle Corn, Taqueria & Pupuseria El Paso, The Big Cheese, The Corn Guys, and Vocelli Pizza. For fairgoers 21+, Lone Oak Brewery will be hosting the “Grape & Grain” tent, featuring Doc Waters, Far Eastern Shore Winery, Puerto Rico Distillery, The Winery at Olney, Tipsy Teacher Winery, and Twin Valley Distillers.
You can download a copy of the 2023 Fair Catalog here. Admission to the fair is $15 on-site and $12 online. Children 11 & under can enter free and parking is $15 per car. Tickets can be purchased here. Free entertainment this year includes a canine aquatics competition, pig racing, the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, illusionists, remote control car racing, comedy shows, and stilt walkers. Ticketed events at the Fair’s Grandstand include Truck Drag Racing on August 14th, the Renegade Monster Truck Tour on August 16th and 17th, and Demolition Derby “Night of Destruction” on August 18th and 19th.
AG Center History: “The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair was born out of the desire of 4-H leaders to provide a county show for the 4-H members in Montgomery County. This would allow the 4-H members to exhibit their prize livestock, garden and home economics projects to the community. Their initial meeting occurred on a cold, March night in Rockville in 1945 with the intent to start a Fair. The Montgomery County Fair is now today, one of the largest county Fairs in the State of Maryland.
During the first years of this new program from 1945 to 1948, anyone in the community with an interest in agriculture donated their time and efforts to provide 4-H and FFA youth the opportunity to compete for top awards with their projects. Parents of these youth served refreshments for the participants, sold catalog advertisements, built pens and ties for the livestock, and organized the entries. Prize money was provided by the Maryland State Fair Board with the shows being held on borrowed ground.
The Montgomery County Agricultural Center Inc. (MCAC) was formed as a privately operated 501(c) (3) non-profit organization on January 7, 1949, when a group of local farmers were elected as the first Board of Directors by the volunteer membership of the organization. The MCAC had recently purchased 64 acres of land adjacent to the railroad tracks from Herman Rabbitt, a successful farmer and landowner in Gaithersburg. On June 4th, 1949, hundreds of volunteers participated in after an old-fashioned barn raising and 12 outbuildings were constructed in one day. The site of the new Montgomery County Agricultural Center was created. Dedicated volunteers donated time, materials and talent to construct and continue operation of the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds would not be what it is today if it were not for those visionary pioneers who were committed to agricultural education and family entertainment.
As is true today for the agricultural center, the volunteers were, and still are, necessary to the successful operation of the Fairgrounds, through continued contributions of materials and free labor for the construction of the new facilities, as well as upgrading the old. A network of more than 2,000 volunteers continue providing their time, making the agricultural center a vital part of the business community in Montgomery County. The nine day Montgomery County Agricultural Fair that is held in mid-August requires support from over 800 volunteers who assume the responsibility for organizing and producing the single largest annual event in Montgomery County.
The positive relationships and friendly atmosphere here at the Fairgrounds makes the MCAC a unique organization that continues to provide service to the agricultural and nonagricultural segments of our population while educating the public.”