Missouri State Fair Preview

(SEDALIA, Mo.) – Tuesday, visitors to the Missouri State Fair can save up to half on gate admission with food donations. The fourth annual food drive is being sponsored again this year by Midwest and St. Louis Ford Dealers and Missouri Farmers Care. The gate special on the fairgrounds Wednesday will be a $2 savings on senior and adult tickets with a Sedalia Democrat front page banner advertisement.

"Canned food is being collected everyday of the State Fair," said Fair Director Mark Wolfe. "On Tuesday, with the cooperation of our sponsors, we will offer a discount on gate admission to visitors who bring in canned food."

The promotion, Missouri Farmers Care Food Drive Tuesday, will allow fairgoers to exchange a canned food item for a $1 off gate admission coupon at Centennial Gate on Aug. 12. The discount may not be combined with other offers and is limited to a $4 savings per adult ticket, $3 per senior ticket and $1 per child ticket. Regular prices on these tickets are $8, $6 and $2, respectively.

To further raise awareness about hunger, a Canstruction® project of the 4-H emblem is on display through Aug. 17 at the Missouri Farmers Care booth located in the Agriculture Building. The project is built with nearly 5,000 green, yellow, black and white cans, which were donated by Bing's Grocery Store of Sedalia. The project is nearly 14’ tall and over 15’ wide, and is a tribute to the efforts of Missouri 4-H youth who contributed more than 10,500 hours of service this year to fighting hunger in their communities. Visitors to the exhibit during the Fair may also make a monetary donation, which will further assist the Missouri Food Bank Association in serving more Missourians in need.

The gate promotion Wednesday is a $2 savings on adult and senior admission with a Fair banner advertisement from the front page of the Sedalia Democrat newspaper, sponsor of Senior Appreciation Day. An abundance of special activities will be available on this day in the Mathewson Exhibition Center, and Bluegrass music can be enjoyed across the fairgrounds.

The Show-Me Bluegrass Festival, sponsored by AgriMissouri, will include performances from 11 bands: The Baker Family, Bluegrass Missourians, Whetstone, The Sterlings, Misty Mountain, The Farnum Family, Dixie Union, Charlie and The Girls, Sherman Mountain Boys, The Bluegrass Martins and the Sweeney Family Band Country Comedy Review. Performance times are listed in the daily guides, which are available at information booths on the fairgrounds, and in the online Bluegrass Schedule on the Fair's website.

For more information about these and other special promotions held during this year's Fair, visit www.mostatefair.com, follow the Fair on Facebook and Twitter, or call 1-800-422-FAIR (3247). The 112th Missouri State Fair, themed “Harvest the Fun!,” is currently underway through Aug. 17 in Sedalia.

(Courtesy of Missouri State Fair Marketing Department)