The award-winning Williamson County Fair will be celebrating its twenty-first year from August 1st through 9th, at the Williamson County AgExpo, with a theme of “Summer Nights and Fair Delights.” The Williamson County Fair is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that is organized to promote, encourage and stimulate the civic welfare and betterment of Williamson County and the surrounding geographic area, through the promotion, ownership and operation of a Fair and other similar endeavors. Its mission is to provide a family-friendly event, promoting agriculture, bringing communities together and celebrating the traditions of the community. The fair traditionally attracts over 200,000 attendees This year’s fair includes family-friendly shows, competitions, food, midway rides, and fireworks on both Fridays and Saturdays.
The Fair gives community members the opportunity to showcase their talents across a wide range of categories, from creative arts and crafts to time-honored favorites like baking and livestock. In addition to traditional favorites, the Fair offers meaningful community-driven competitions like the Newborn Blankets contest, where handmade entries are donated to Williamson Health Foundation. Other unique events include the Quilt Block Challenge, which contributes to a community quilt raffle, and the Hay Bale Decorating Contest, a creative favorite adding personality to the fairgrounds.
This year, the Fair has named Paul Webb as Board Chairman. Paul succeeds Diane Giddens, who will now serve in the newly created position of Past Chairman. County Mayor Rogers Anderson is now Chair-Elect and Tom Tunnicliffe has joined the Executive Committee as Second Vice-Chair. Paul has served on the Fair Board since 2005, most recently as Second Vice-Chair. In addition, Matt “Cowboy” Buchanan is the first to serve as full-time Fair Manager after serving in a part-time capacity in 2024. Matt is a seasoned leader in agricultural event management, bringing over thirty-two years of experience to his role as the manager of the Williamson County Fair. Prior to his current position, he served as the manager of the WNC Agricultural Center and North Carolina Mountain State Fair.
Also, the Williamson County Fair recently elected a new 2025 Junior Fair Board (JFB). The mission of the JFB is to promote, encourage and stimulate youth involvement in the civic welfare of Williamson County and the surrounding geographical area by providing leadership opportunities promoting public relations skills, and by facilitating interaction with other committee members. The JFB is comprised of up to twenty-five individuals ages thirteen through twenty. All members are encouraged to attend monthly meetings and work a minimum of fifteen hours during the fair. Atharv Mehendale will lead as Chair, Asa Israel will serve as Vice-Chair and this year’s secretary is Vivaan Rochlani. Additional 2025 members include: Krishna Deepak, Paili Doyle, Katie Fricke, Madhav Kumar, Gracie McCoy, Pranad Majjari, Adam Osborne, Seth Osborne, Mackenzy Page, Haley Poynor, Victor Superi, and Shelby Thames.
