10 Things To Do at the Howard County Fair

You want apple pies? Jumping mules? Tiny horses? The Howard County Fair is celebrating its 68th year starting Saturday.

And, boy are you in for a treat.

Here are our top 10 picks for a genuine county fair experience.

Find a full list of events on the Howard County Fair website (the full schedule is also attached to this article).

Eat Dessert: Or just sit back and watch others indulge. After the Best Apple Pie and Dessert Contest, you can bid on a pie of your very own. Saturday, Aug. 3 at 2:30 p.m. in the 4-H Activities Hall.

See Where your Milk Comes From: Watch skillful hands at work at the Cow Milking contest. This is serious business, hence the list of rules, including: Don’t cry over spilled MILK; and Cows producing chocolate or strawberry MILK will be disqualified. Boy, would I love a chocolate milk cow. Sunday, Aug. 4 at 2:30 p.m. in the Show Pavilion.

Peek into the Future: One day robots will be cooking our dinner and babysitting our kids. For now, they’ll be duking it out at the Howard County Fair at the Robotics Contest. Monday, Aug. 5 at 5 p.m. in the 4-H Activities Hall.

Blast a Bull: Actually, it’s probably the bulls doing the blasting at the Bull Blast Professional Bull Riding Contest. Keep a safe distance for this one. Monday, Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Contest Arena.

Watch inter-species offspring get physical: Not like that. Mules, the offspring of a donkey and horse, will show off their physical prowess at the 9th Annual Mule Pulling Contest and, directly after that is the 3rd Annual Coon Mule Jump. Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 5 p.m. in the Contest Arena.

THIS is what you came for: Admit it. The Miniature Horse Show. TINY HORSES! And boy can they be tiny. One horse farm claims to have had a 14-inch horse that weighed only 20 pounds. Wednesday, Aug. 7 at 9 a.m. in the Horse Rings.

Or maybe this is what you came for: The Rabbit Judging contest. Thursday, Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. in the Rabbit Pavilion. Yep, they’re so cute, they get their own pavilion.

Watch fancy food prep: Local celebrity chefs will show off their culinary skills at the Iron Chef Contest. Hopefully no rabbit on the menu. Thursday, Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. in the 4-H Activities Hall.

Get crafty: Friday is Craft Day at the fair. Try your hand at some crafts fit for kids and adults. Friday, Aug. 9 at 10 a.m. in the 4-H Activities Hall.

See worms race: What more needs to be said? The 4-H Worm Race is Sat., Aug. 10 at 1:30 p.m. in the Show Pavilion.

Editor's Note - Correction - The original version of this article said the fair started Friday, it starts Saturday. We've corrected the post and regret the error.