Tanner, Divas headline Nodaway County Fair
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Rickie Lee Tanner, left, and Divas Through the Decades are the Saturday night headliners at this year’s Nodaway County Fair, which will run Thursday, July 13, through Saturday, July 15. Other fair highlights will include Thursday’s Little Mr. and Miss Nodaway County pageant, a performance by the Nodaway County Band, A Friday-Saturday barbecue cook-off and the Country Showdown talent contest.
The Nodaway County Fair Board has announced the entertainment lineup for this year’s celebration, which will take place on the Maryville square Thursday, July 13, through Saturday, July 15.
This year’s fair theme is “Discover the Magic of Memories,” and mainstage entertainers on Saturday night will conjure up a mix of down-home country and big-city sophistication.
Showtime begins at 7:30 p.m. with a performance by Divas Through the Decades, a tribute to some of the most noted female vocalists in American popular music.
The review features hits made famous by such performers as Tina Turner, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estefan, Madonna, Beyonce, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.
Following the Divas in the headliner spot at 9 p.m. will be fair favorite and Nashville recording artist Rickie Lee Tanner.
A native of Belton, Tanner is the grandson of a professional guitarist that got his start in country music playing “opry” shows in the Kansas City area.
Since releasing the album “This Here” in 2013, Tanner has shared the stage with some of biggest names in country music in addition to appearing on his own at clubs, fairs and festivals throughout the South and Midwest.
Also on the calendar for the 2017 fair is the traditional Little Mr. and Miss Nodaway County pageant on Thursday. The competition is open to children ages 3-5 who live inside the county or whose grandparents are Nodaway County residents.
Entry fee is $5, and participants can be registered online at nodcofair.org. For more information about the pageant, call Teresa Cain at 660-562-7487.
Thursday will also include a performance by the Nodaway County Band, an ensemble made up of pretty much anyone who plays an instrument and wants to participate.
Rehearsals will take place in the Maryville High School band room at 7:30 p.m. on the following dates: May 23 and 30, June 6, 13 and 15, and July 10 and 11. For more information, email Jeremy Krug at [email protected].
Leading the list of Friday attractions is the Nodaway Broadcasting-sponsored Country Showdown talent contest, which will include performances by top-finishers selected during a preliminary round of competition in June.
Performers wishing to sign up should go to nodawaybroadcasting.com.
Aside from musical entertainment, fairgoers will also get a chance to sample some great food during a barbecue contest scheduled from 5-7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, top cooks will participate in the “Get a Taste” wing sampler, serving up barbecued wings in return for free-will donations. Then on Saturday teams will fill plates with savory pork and ribs, along with baked beans, for $5 per diner.
Competition is limited to 15 teams, and the $100 registration fee includes pork butts, ribs and beans. All teams must have a fire extinguisher on site and comply with County Health Center regulations.
To sign up, call 660-541-3525. Cash prizes will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place finishers.
Of course, while most folks associate the start of the fair with the opening of the midway on the courthouse square Thursday evening, the annual exhibition of all things Nodaway actually gets underway Tuesday, July 11, with the 4-H/FFA poultry show at the Community Building arena just north of the Northwest Missouri Regional Airport.
Youth livestock shows for swine, sheep and goats will take place at the arena all day Wednesday with beef and dairy cattle exhibitors entering the ring on Thursday.
For more fair information and updates, go to www.nodcofair.org or search for Nodaway County Fair on Facebook.
