HAMILTON, Ohio – It’s a week of cotton candy and corn dogs, typically hot, often with some rain. A week of rides, animals, vendors, demolition derbies and more. Young and old, everybody loves the fair. The Butler County Fair, a family tradition since 1851 – according to its logo – just finished its 2025 run.

“I don’t know anybody who doesn’t love the fair,” said Butler County Commissioner Don Dixon. “It brings all of our folks together.

“I have always believed that 4-H is an activity we need to keep in place for our young folks growing up, to teach them the ethics of real life and how it works. How to be a professional, to act the right way. The fair has always been a great investment, whatever we put into it. We want to continue to improve the facilities, exhibits, and barns as much as possible.”

This year, one of the horse barns was replaced. It was one of the original buildings and was in bad shape, said fair board member Chad Idle. The stalls were deteriorating.

“I have been at the fair for 50 years now,” Idle said. “For the past 50 years, that barn has needed to be replaced. We were able to secure a grant as well as other funding from the Butler County Agriculture Society to replace that building with a 60-by-200-foot modern building. We also purchased 40 portable horse stalls, and it has turned out to be a beautiful structure.”

The number of horses was down slightly this year, Idle said. Typically, there are about 150 horses, but this year there were about 120. In the new building, they were housed in 10-by-10-foot aluminum stalls with puck board inserts.

“We are pleased and impressed,” Idle said. “Never in a million years did we think that we would be able to get a new horse barn; we are happy with it, and the fair board is very proud of it.”

While none of the horses expressed an opinion, the 4-H exhibitors endorsed the new building.

“I have been showing horses here for three years,” said 4-H member Joey Rack. “The new barn is a lot nicer, cleaner, and safer for the horses. We have fans in there, so it stays cool, it’s good for the horses.”

The horse barn is only used as a horse barn for one week out of the year; then the stalls are disassembled and stored, and the fair board rents the building for boat and camper storage, said Doug Turner, fair board president.

“It will generate income for the fair year-round,” Turner said.

The grandstand, however, is only used during fair week. It was repaired last year with a $750,000 grant from the State of Ohio. The grandstand was built in 1913 with 3,000 seats at a cost of $33,000. It was made entirely of concrete, and it is thought to be the first of its kind built in the United States.

“A lot of people have asked me if it was worth $750,000 to repair the grandstand,” Turner said. “The grandstand is on our checks, our letterheads; it is the icon of the fairgrounds. It is a historical part of the fairgrounds. So yes, it was worth it. It was a big undertaking.

“We repaired all of the concrete and the mortar joints in the brick and repainted the entire structure,” Turner explained. “It was built in 1913, the year of the flood. It was kind of impressive that they built that in the year of the flood.”

The rest of the fairgrounds is rented out for various events almost year-round.

“We are fortunate; we have a 10-member fair board, and they are great to work with,” Turner said. “We all get along well, and we work well together. The county commissioners have always been very supportive.”

Added Dixon: “It has always been a great investment on the county’s side. It has been a pleasure working with our fair board; they are outstanding. It is a great investment, whatever we put in there. We want to continue to improve the facilities, exhibits, and barns as much as possible. It will always be in our budget. Everybody loves the fair.”

Each year, 80,000-100,000 people visit the Butler County Fair, coming from all over the state, according to the Butler County Fair website. The fair is a large revenue source for over 100 vendors, generating almost a million dollars in sales.