Fair Parade set for Friday morning
(Seguin) — Family fun continues these next three days during the annual Guadalupe County Fair and PRCA Rodeo. The fair runs through Sunday at the Guadalupe County Fairgrounds. Friday’s schedule kicks off with the annual fair parade. The parade begins at 10 a.m. and will travel south on Austin Street.
Parade Chairman Gail Damerau says the fair board is excited to welcome the biggest parade in recent years.
“The fair parade, we are at 50 so we are going to have a big parade this year. It’s going to be in downtown Seguin. We will start at College and Austin Street. The entries will be on College and we will start judging at 8:30 and we will start the parade at 10 o’clock and you can watch the parade anywhere from downtown College and Austin until Nelda on Austin Street and that will funnel into the fairgrounds,” said Damerau.
Damerau says this year, the parade will welcome several new entries.
“We’ve got some dance teams coming out of the San Antonio area. The Thomas Jefferson Lasso Girls will be in the parade and then we will have another dance team out of San Antonio, and we’ve got all kinds of entries in the parade,” said Damerau.
Fair gates open at 11 a.m. Friday. Events include Fair Market Days/Oktoberfest from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; the Kid’s Corral from 1:30 to 4 p.m.; a wine garden from 4 to 11 p.m.; and the presentation of Miss Rodeo in the rodeo arena beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday’s dance features music by Gary Glenn & 20x Band. The free dance will be held in the Dance Pavilion from 7:30 p.m. to midnight.
On Saturday, gates to the fairgrounds open at 9 a.m. Events throughout the day include a trade fair and expo from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; the Dude to Dazzle contest at 9:30 a.m.; the Best Western Wear Roundup at 10 a.m.; the annual pet show at 12:30 p.m.; youth activities from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; a fiddler’s contest at 1:30 p.m. followed by the Fair Queen’s contest at 5:30 p.m.; the presentation of Miss Rodeo-Guadalupe County Teen & Princess at 7:30 p.m. and the Mutton Bustin’ Contest at 7:45 p.m.
Saturday’s dance will feature music by the Randy Burghardt Band from 6 to 9 p.m. Following him on stage in the Dance Pavilion will be headliner Clint Taft and the Buckwild Band from 9 to 11:30 p.m.
Gates on Sunday open at 10 a.m. Sunday’s schedule will wrap up another year of the county fair. The schedule includes Fair Market Days from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; youth activities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; goat roping at noon; live music by the Shiner Hobo Band from 1 to 4 p.m. in the gazebo and music by Gacho Sol also from 1 to 4 p.m. in the dance pavilion; the Food Challenge contest at 1:30 p.m. followed by the release of home arts and pumpkin decorating entries from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Gates officially close at 6 p.m.
Each day of the fair includes a large carnival and various food booths. The PRCA Rodeo also continues today and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 pre-sale.
Tickets at the main entrance gate are $10 a person. Children 10 and under are free.
Gate admission into the fairgrounds also varies each day. Friday is Student and Military Day. Students with an ID or those with a military ID get in free until 7 p.m. Otherwise, cost is the $10.
Admission on Saturday is $10. Kids, again, are free. Sunday is free all day for everyone.
Parking throughout the weekend is $5 a vehicle. This year’s proceeds from parking will again go to Relay for Life of Guadalupe and Comal Counties. It will largely be Relay group members who will be volunteering with the parking.
Damerau says an added bonus this year is a free shuttle service on Saturday only.
“A free shuttle to the fairgrounds from the Columbus Club of Seguin Hall and the Seguin Wave Pool will only be offered Saturday night,” said Damerau.
The schedule of events for this year’s fair are available in the official fair catalog. A copy of the catalog can be picked up at Seguin Radio KWED. You can also find it online at gcfair.org.