The 2018 Clark County Fair and Horse Show kicks off this weekend with the Clark County Antique Tractor Club and Machinery Show, District Beef Show and several pageants for young children.

It also marks the fair’s 70th anniversary.

The first Clark County Fair was a three-day event, held October 14-16, 1948, at the Winchester Tobacco Warehouse Cooperative on Winn Avenue. Adults paid 35 cents to enter; 15 cents for children.

About 8,000 people attended the small fair which included entertainment programs, livestock shows, agricultural displays, a merry-go-round and a ferris wheel.

In 1968, the fair moved to its present-day location on Ironworks Road.

This year, an anticipated 40,000 fairgoers will have the chance to experience the carnival rides, petting zoos, magic shows, fair food and more.

Admission for Saturday is $5 for adults and $3 for children. There are no carnival rides.

Admission from Tuesday to Saturday is $10, which includes general admission, parking, all events and all carnival rides.

Clark County’s littlest residents will help kick off the festivities for the first round of pageants, starting at 10 a.m.

Baby pageants A and B, the Duke-Duchess and Prince-Princess pageant, and the Little Miss and Mister pageant will be the first fair events starting Saturday morning at the William N. Shelton Expo Building.

Baby pageant A is for boys and girls ages newborn to 6 months old, and pageant B is for 7 months to 1-year-olds.

The pageants continue with the Duke and Duchess (boys and girls born July 2015 to June 2017) and Little Prince and Princess (boys and girls born July 2013 to June 2015) at 11:30 a.m. Contestants will compete for first- through fourth-place, as well as best smile and best personality.

The Little Miss and Mister competition is the final pageant set for 2 p.m. Saturday for contestants ages 5  to 7. The winners will move on to compete at the state level in August.

There will be no carnival rides or events Sunday or Monday.

Besides the rides and entertainment, the county fair celebrates Clark County’s vibrant agricultural community, according to the fair catalog. Each year, youth 4-H, FFA and home economic exhibit entries are taken in, judged and displayed as part of the fair. Exhibits include everything from vegetables and plants to paintings, crafts and antiques. For rules, fair policies and other entry information, view this year’s fair catalog, which is available at multiple locations throughout the community and online at clarkcountykyfair.org.

Youth 4-H and home economic entries will be received from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday.

On Tuesday, fairgoers can attend the goat show, a truck tug and drag race.

The competition for the highest titles of fair week, Miss Clark County and Miss Clark County Fair, will also be Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Contestants must be ages 16 to 22 and will compete in interview, one-piece swimsuit and evening gown categories.

The glitz and glamor will continue through fair week picking back up Wednesday with the Miss Teen Clark County pageant at 7:30 p.m. In this division, girls ages 13 to 16 will compete for Miss Teen Clark County, who will be a local representative and reign throughout the fair, and Miss Teen Clark County Fair, who will represent Clark County at the Kentucky Association of County Fairs.

Wednesday will also bring the old-fashioned fair games, garden tractor pull and Miss Teen Clark County.

Old-fashioned fair games will begin at 7 p.m. and will include a hay bale toss, sack race, greased pig chase, money in the haystack, egg/spoon race, three-legged race, seed-spitting contest and an egg toss.

Contest exhibits open Thursday; there will also be truck and tractor pulls and a youth swine show.

Girls ages 8 to 13 will compete for in the Miss Pre-Teen Clark County Pageant at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

On Friday, fair-goers can attend the open sheep show, the Martin Family Circus show and the mud run.

The fair will come to an end with the power wheels derby and demolition derby Saturday, June 23.

Complete information about each of the fair events can be found in the catalog atn clarkcountykyfair.org.