Congratulations and Gratitude to our Naming sponsors:
Traditions First Bank - Fairgrounds Name Sponsor
The Pitts Family - The Bobby & Sue Pitts Memorial Livestock Pavilion name sponsor
Becky Averitt - The Averitt Family Event Hall name sponsor

DONORS
Stephen & Karen Black
El Paso Mexican Restaurant
Ben Redman
United Farm & Home Co-op
Houston County Farm Bureau
Sam Fussell
Ray Fussell
Dickson County Equipment

Thank you to our Building Contributors:
Rep Jay and Vickie Reedy
Cleghern's Piggly Wiggly
In Memory of Buford & Ethel Fussell
In Honor of Ms. Polly Fussell
Loftin Farms
Bobby & Denise Borens
Tommy & Teresa Mitchell
Nanette Morford
Sugar Camp Hollow Farm
Houston County Government
Freeman Farms
Dan & Elizabeth Martin
Kendall & Carla Coleman
Gay & Chris Pitts
Seth Rye
Melinda & Clay Deason
Reynolds Insurance

Appreciation to all of our donors:
Ms. Sharon Lewis
Mr. Dave Richie
Charles & Jackie Bateman
Kristi & Reggie Spurgeon
Glastonbury Southern Gage
Price Florist
Glen & Leah Baggett
Beverly & Rhonda Nolen
Robbie & Mary Ann Mitchell
Alfred Rossi
Kevin Stanfill

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County fairs have long held a key role in America’s agricultural community, serving as a forum for sharing agricultural knowledge and highlighting local products. They also provide a stage for youth involved in our schools and 4H to showcase their projects and local artists to be recognized for their work. Beyond the educational purposes, fairs provided an opportunity for members of far flung rural communities to gather and socialize, reinforcing the bonds that underlie rural life.

The history of the Houston County fair stretches back to 1902, with fairs being held annually until 1966, when the fair went dormant. The current Houston County Fair was resurrected by a dedicated group of volunteers back in 2007 and has grown in popularity in the intervening years, with paid attendance exceeding 5000 visitors, not including the participants. Beyond the fair itself, the fair board sponsors the New Year’s Eve shamrock drop along with the Fairest of the Fair pageant and additional events throughout the year.
Since its resurrection, the Houston County Fair has been operating out of space that was made available through the generosity of Jay Perdue at no cost to the fair. Over the course of the intervening 15 years, the fair and its volunteers have transformed what was a dilapidated and impossibly cluttered facility into the current venue. This transformation was made using donated / salvaged materials and the personal investment of time and energy by the fair’s enthusiastic volunteers.

The past 12 months have been both exciting and eventful for the Houston County fair. To recap, in March of 2023 the Houston County Fair successfully completed the purchase of the fairgrounds from Jay and Vicki Perdue. Thanks to the generous support of our many supporters in the community, the Fair’s indebtedness has been reduced from the original $400,000.00 purchase price to $180,000.00 – not paid off yet, but getting closer. On September 28, 2023 the Fair received its long awaited 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS with an effective date of June 9, 2023. This means that contributions made to the Fair may be deductible for federal income tax purposes.  When we gathered last June a plan was laid out for the development of a livestock pavilion, restrooms,  concessions area and announcers stand. Thanks to the generous support of our community along with a matching grant from the state of Tennessee the pavilion was completed this April and the restroom /
concession stand building is in the design / permit / quote process, with a goal to have this in place for this year’s Fair. Through the support of the Co-Op and Farm Bureau, the pavilion has been equipped with a state of the art digital scale and reconfigurable fence panels, which allowed us to host our first 4H beef show.
Work has also progressed on the main building, with a primary focus on closing up the building to the elements and birds. In late 2022 a storm badly damaged a roof on the southern end of the building, with the damaged being magnified by some deteriorated roof framing (this portion of the building has conventional wood construction). Repairing this required demolishing & reconstructing the entire roof, which has been completed. A persistent leak at the rear of the main exhibit area has been repaired,
along with leaks along the center roofline between buildings. New LED lighting has been installed in the
art exhibition area and the center of the east building. And from a cosmetic perspective, all of the unused electrical equipment has been removed from the front of the building and we are in the process of closing in the opening from the old loading dock and re-sheathing the front of the building – it will look 100% better when complete.
Rebuilding of the damaged roof on the main building. Building is now weather tight, once finished inside it will serve as a classroom.
Besides serving as the home of the Houston County Fair, the event center has hosted numerous events over the past twelve months, ranging from an arts show organized by the Houston County Arts council, the Celtic Bass tournament, a demolition derby, the Autumn Market, professional wrestling, the New Year’s Eve Shamrock Drop and the bucking bull shootout show. Through hosting these events the event center brings a variety of family oriented events to Houston County.
Looking ahead to the next 12 months the event center is planning on undertaking the following projects:
- Improving the arena area to more readily accommodate a variety of events with improved audience seating and safety
- Adding perimeter fencing around the facility for improved security
- Re-sheathing the building exterior to improve cosmetics and seal up the facility
- Retrofitting the buildings rest rooms for improved cosmetics and ADA compliance
- Beginning the construction of a performing arts venue in the main building. This venue will expand the range of events the center is able to host to include live music and stage performances Beyond the projects cited above, the event center has reached out to other community groups for their suggestions as to future developments and improvements at the event center. The event center will be holding its annual fundraising dinner on June 22 nd , it should be a fun evening to meet your neighbors, review the prior 12 months progress and learn about plans for the future, and we hope you are able to join us.