Silas Jones performs on the Inlet Stage at the Kenai Peninsula Fair on Aug. 12, 2022, in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Silas Jones performs on the Inlet Stage at the Kenai Peninsula Fair on Aug. 12, 2022, in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Peninsula Fair to bring music, food, games to Ninilchik

The event will take place Friday, Aug. 11 to Sunday, Aug. 13

The Kenai Peninsula Fair will again fill the fairgrounds in Ninilchik next weekend, bringing performers, animals, games and food together for an event stretching from Friday, Aug. 11 to Sunday, Aug. 13.

Fair Coordinator Lara McGinnis said Wednesday that each year the fair offers a variety of attractions for a family audience — local musical talent, carnival games, horse rides, a petting zoo, a rodeo and the “always fun” pig races.

New this year is a ticketed comedy show Friday night headlined by Greg Morton — seen on “America’s Got Talent.” There will also be performances by Stilt Circus, a “phenomenal” variety show — on stilts — and attractions by Tons of Fun Entertainment including an obstacle course and climbing wall

McGinnis said she loves what the fair brings to Ninilchik and the Kenai Peninsula.

“These are life-changing experiences,” she said. “That’s why kids keep coming back.”

Those kids aren’t just the ones coming to partake in the festivities — they also include the performers taking the stage and the volunteers making the event happen.

Silas Jones, dubbed “Guitar Prodigy” on the fair program, is a 17-year-old guitarist out of Homer who’s played at the fair since 2021. Last year he drew a crowd as he strummed and tapped on his instrument. He’s set to play Friday at 3 p.m.

Adelyn McCorison is similarly a budding musician from Homer who McGinnis said came looking for a chance to perform. She’s set for appearances on all three days.

McGinnis said one act, the Pushki Pickers, features an artist who’s been playing the fair since the age of 4 — Josh Krohn, who currently heads up KBBI radio.

“It’s awesome when the kids you watched grow up come back to perform at the fair,” McGinnis said.

She credits community support from local organizations and volunteers with making the fair even a possibility — especially in recent years when they’ve run the fair the week after Salmonfest. She said it’ll be members of Freedom House and the Ninilchik Wolverine Basketball team preparing the space next week in the days leading up to opening.

The Kenai Peninsula Fair will be held at the Kenai Peninsula fairgrounds Aug. 11-13. The fair will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The rodeo runs Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. The comedy show is Friday at 7 p.m., and tickets are available at kenaipeninsulafair.com.

Admission to the fair is $10 for adults, and $5 for youth and seniors. Youth and senior admission will be further discounted to $3 on Friday. On Sunday, free admission can be secured with a donation to the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank.

For more information about the Kenai Peninsula Fair, visit facebook.com/kpfair.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in Life

Artwork by Susie Scrivner for her exhibition, “Portraits of the Kenai,” fills the walls of the Kenai Art Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai through ‘fresh eyes’

October show at Kenai Art Show a celebration of Kenai Peninsula, a call for more creativity

In the Hope Cemetery, the grave marker for Warren Melville Nutter contains errors in his birth year and his age. The illustration, however, captures his adventurous spirit. (Photo courtesy of findagrave.com)
Finding Mister Nutter — Part 1

It turned out that there were at least four other Nutters on the Kenai in the first half of the 20th century

This roasted pumpkin, apple and carrot soup is smooth and sweet. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Soothing soup for fall days

This roasted pumpkin, apple and carrot soup is perfect for a sick kid and worried-sick parents

Late Anchor Point artist Norman Lowell is seen in this 2003 photo provided by the Norman Lowell Gallery on Sept. 19, 2024. (Courtesy)
Losing the light

Anchor Point artist Norman Lowell dies at 96

File
Minister’s Message: How to stop ‘stinking thinking’ and experience true life

Breaking free from “stinking thinking” requires an intentional shift in who or what we allow to control our thoughts

During the brief time (1933-34) that Bob Huttle (right) spent on Tustumena Lake, he documented a tremendous number of structures and described many of the people he met there. One of the men he traveled with frequently was John “Frenchy” Cannon (left), seen here at the Upper Bear Creek Cabin. (Photo courtesy of the Robert Huttle Collection)
Cosmopolitan Tustumena — Part 2

Many individuals came to and departed from the Tustumena scene

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
The Kenai Central High School Marching Band performs “Snakes and Songbirds: The Music of the Hunger Games” during the Kenai Marching Showcase at Ed Hollier Field in Kenai on Saturday.
Marching ahead

Kenai band showcase marks growth of Alaska scene

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
A presenter processes cabbage for storage at the fermentation station during the Harvest Moon Local Food Festival at Soldotna Creek Park on Saturday.
Local food festival returns produce, demos to Soldotna Creek Park

The annual Harvest Moon Local Food Festival is organized by the Kenai Local Food Connection

These chai latte cookies are fragrant and complex, perfect for autumn evenings at the table. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Card night cookies

These chai latte cookies are fragrant and complex, perfect for autumn evenings at the table

Nick Varney
Unhinged Alaska: Memories from the last great non hunt

I’m sure the regulations must be much simpler by now

Ole Frostad, pictured here in the 1930s, and his brother Erling lived seasonally and trapped at Tustumena Lake. They also fished commercially in the summers out of Kenai. (Photo courtesy of the Gary Titus Collection)
Cosmopolitan Tustumena — Part 1

Few people these days would associate the word “cosmopolitan” with Tustumena Lake

File
Minister’s Message: Living in the community of faith

Being part of the community of faith is a refreshing blessing