The Clay County Fair is held every September in Spencer, Iowa

Spencer, Iowa

Spencer is a city in the state of Iowa , and the county seat of Clay County . It is located at the confluence of the Little Sioux and Ocheyedan Rivers. The population was 11,233 in the 2010 census, a decline from 11,317 in the 2000 census. Spencer is famous as the home of the Clay County Fair,...

. It is the largest county fair in the state of Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

. It has the second largest agricultural exposition

Agricultural show

An agricultural show is a public event showcasing the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show , a trade fair, competitions, and entertainment...

 in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. Bringing in over 310,000 visitors a year, the Clay County Fair is one of the largest county fairs in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. 2011 set attendance records of 328,000.. Beginning in 1918, the fair has grown considerably over the past near century.

In its first year the Clay County Fair brought in 30,000 guests. In 1936 the fair completed the construction of its second grandstand, able to seat over 7,500 people, which it still uses today. During the 1930s the fair continued construction of agricultural buildings for livestock. The Clay County Fair has firmly planted itself as the largest Midwest county fair.

The fair also hosts a carnival of over 80 rides and attractions. There are also many businesses that have booths all over the fair. It consists of over 35 square city blocks of space , and continues to fill up the space tighter and tighter every year.

Some familiar people/groups who have visited and/or performed at the Clay County Fair are: Former President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

, Sen. John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

, former Vice President

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

 Al Gore

Al Gore

Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....

, Bob Hope

Bob Hope

Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...

, Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...

, Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash

John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

, Tim McGraw

Tim McGraw

Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...

, Kenny Rogers

Kenny Rogers

Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...

, LeeAnn Womack, Martina McBride

Martina McBride

Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....

, REO Speedwagon

REO Speedwagon

REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...

, The Righteous Brothers

The Righteous Brothers

The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003...

, Plus One

Plus One (band)

Plus One was an American Christian pop band from the 2000s.Plus One enjoyed their greatest success with the release of their debut album, The Promise, which featured the hits "Written on My Heart" and "God Is in This Place"....

, Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken

Clayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released...

, ZZ Top

ZZ Top

ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...

, LeAnn Rimes

LeAnn Rimes

LeAnn Rimes is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Patsy Cline-intended single "Blue" when Rimes was only age 13, resulting in her...

, Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley

Brad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....

, Lee Greenwood

Lee Greenwood

Melvin Lee Greenwood is an American country music artist. Active since the early 1980s, he has released more than twenty major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the Billboard country music charts....

, Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby

William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...

, Red Skelton

Red Skelton

Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...

, Jim Nabors

Jim Nabors

James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...

, Lonestar

Lonestar

Lonestar is an American country music group consisting of Richie McDonald , Michael Britt , Keech Rainwater , Dean Sams , and Michael Hill . McDonald left the band in November 2007 for a solo career before returning in 2011...

, Grand Funk Railroad

Grand Funk Railroad

Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...

, Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks

Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...

, Survivor

Survivor (band)

Survivor is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1978. The band achieved its greatest success in the 1980s with its AOR sound, which garnered many charting singles, especially in the United States. The band is best known for its double platinum-certified 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger", the theme...

, Trisha Yearwood

Trisha Yearwood

Patricia Lynn Yearwood, professionally known as Trisha Yearwood , is an American country music artist. She is best known for her ballads about vulnerable young women from a female perspective that have been described by some music critics as "strong" and "confident."Trisha Yearwood signed with MCA...

, Heart and Foreigner

Foreigner (band)

Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...

. On September 15, 2007 Aly and AJ played there for the first time in Iowa.

With the completion of the Clay County Regional Events Center inside the fairground walls, new opportunities have opened. Some of these are indoor concerts. With seating up to 3,400 people, the events center has hosted The Barnum and Bailey Circus, and the Lipizzan Stallions. It also has a large ballroom/dining room capable of seating up to 400 people, just creating even more opportunities to flourish and grow.

The Fair has just completed another project in 2007. The Race Track was modified into a 3/8 track. The previous track was a large, flat, half-mile oval that was generally used for horse racing. In order to host high-quality auto racing events, the fair deemed it necessary to construct a completely new racetrack. It was converted to a 3/8 mile clay track, with increased corner banking to adjust for the higher speeds of auto racing. Additionally, a state-of-the-art lighting system was installed to make the races more visible for both drivers and fans.

In 2008, the racing schedule featured the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) hosting two classes of racing; Modifieds and Stock Cars. Those races also included Hobby Stocks and 360 Modifieds. July 4th, the WorldDirt Racing League (WDRL) also hosted a Late Model Series and 360 Sprints on the track. The season rounded out with an appearance by the World of Outlaws during the 2008 Clay County Fair and another race with IMCA Modifieds and Stock Cars, with Hobby Stocks and 360 Modifieds.