Bird ban ends at Sedgwick County Fair

Chickens, ducks and other poultry will once again have a place to perch at the Sedgwick County Fair, which begins Wednesday at the Cheney fairgrounds.

Last year, the Kansas Department of Agriculture placed a “stop movement” order on all poultry-related events to keep the avian flu from breaking out in domestic flocks, thus canceling the shows at the fair.

This year, though, the birds are back, and fair organizers are happy about it, said fair vice president Marti Johnson.

“It was kind of sad and lonely in (the rabbit and poultry barn) … last year because there weren’t any chickens and ducks and roosters,” Johnson said.

Beth Drescher, county extension agent in 4-H Youth Development, said each animal in the poultry events – other than the water fowl – must be tested, and a veterinarian from the U.S. Department of Agriculture came recently to complete those tests.

“If they don’t have (the test), they don’t show,” Drescher said.

The Hornung family has been a part of the Derby 4-H club for two years, but this is their first year showing animals. Caroline Hornung, 10, will be showing a rooster at the county fair, and her sister Lauren, 12, will be showing two hens.

The girls both said they are very excited to show their animals. They feed and water their chickens every morning, and sometimes they give them treats of corn and cranberries frozen in water to help them beat the heat, Caroline said.

“It’s been fun,” Lauren said. “We’ve been keeping our chickens well-fed and watered and playing with them, keeping them happy.”

Bubble soccer

The return of the poultry isn’t the only change to the county fair this year.

One new event is “bubble soccer,” which will be held for kids on Friday and adults on Saturday, Johnson said.

But it’s not the soccer ball that people will be focused on. It’s the giant, blow-up balls that players will wear.

“They have these giant, inflatable balls that you kind of wiggle into the middle of, and they’re huge,” Johnson said. “They kind of cover you from head to knees, so your ability to run and kick is somewhat restricted.

“You try to run around and you try to kick a soccer ball. You fall down a lot. You run into people a lot.”

New carnival rides

Other changes this year will affect the Pride of Texas Carnival, which will include two new rides: the Riptide and Crystal Lil’s, which is a funhouse, Johnson said.

Because the fair is the same week as the Fourth of July, the carnival will likely only operate three days instead of four.

The Pride of Texas has another event in Texas on Monday, so it will not make it to Cheney until late Tuesday night, Johnson said. Fair officials think Wednesday will be needed for the carnival to set up.

“We don’t like to do that, but sometimes it just happens that way,” Johnson said.

“If you’re promising your kids carnival rides, don’t do it Wednesday night.”

A free magic show will be held Wednesday night to make up for the carnival’s absence and provide something different for the kids, she said. Any updates on the carnival’s status will be posted on the fair’s website (www.ourcountyfair.com), Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages.

Construction delays

Johnson said she received a surprise last week when she saw signs saying MacArthur Road, one of the main routes to the fairground, was going to be closed starting the first day of the fair.

After talking with the county’s Public Works Department, though, a solution was reached.

The road at the Lake Afton bridge will just be one lane and will have a flagger during the day, but after 5 p.m., it will be fully open, Johnson said.

“They should not be long delays, and certainly going home it’s not going to be an issue,” Johnson said. “They are going to be really responsive about making sure the traffic flows good.”

Neal McCoy concert

The fair’s headline act will be a concert from country music star Neal McCoy on Friday night.

Among other awards, McCoy received the TNN/Music City News Country Awards Entertainer of the Year award in 1998 and 1999. His popular songs include “Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On,” “Wink” and “No Doubt About It.”

“We’ve really had … lots of excitement about him performing,” Johnson said. “Everybody that has (seen his act) just raves about what a good show he puts on, and so Friday night ought to be super duper.”

Tighter security

At the request of McCoy and his booking agent, security at the grandstand will be ramped up.

This year’s security will be provided by armed police officers, both uniformed and off-duty, hired by the fair board instead of the usual private vendors, Johnson said. Other city departments and the sheriff’s department also will also help.

“We’re going to take security extremely seriously this year,” Johnson said.

Officers will check bags and wand people at the grandstands before the concert, which will slow the process, she said. For this reason, the gates will open early, and Johnson advises people to show up early.

This story was originally published July 4, 2016 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Bird ban ends at Sedgwick County Fair."