The 2017 Olmsted County Free Fair will kick off on Monday and run from July 24-30 at the Olmsted County Fairgrounds in Rochester. Now in its 157th year, the fair will be featuring some returning favorites as well as some new attractions.

“We have a wide variety of commercial vendors, equipment dealers, landscapers, etc.,” said Olmsted County Free Fair Board President Lenny Laures. “If you’re looking for displays, this is the place to be.”

Laures said that some of the biggest returning attractions are the bull riding contest, the ATV show, the truck and tractor show, the auto cross dirt track, the miracle of birth area, and the demolition derby.

A new display this year will be the Discover the Dinosaurs exhibit at the Graham Arena Complex. Open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday, the exhibit will allow visitors to get up close to dinosaurs and dig for fossils.

Laures said there would also be new food vendors this year.

“Our tag line is ‘Where city and country come together,’” Laures said. “That’s what we try to promote, to introduce people to the rural area and bring everybody together.”

“This is one of the biggest carnivals in southern Minnesota and one of the premiere ones in the Midwest,” he added.

Grandstand Schedule

For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.olmstedcountyfair.com/.

Wednesday

•Truck and Tractor Pull, adults $8 and kids under 12 $5, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday

•Great Frontier Bull Riding, adults $12 and kids under 12 $7, 7 p.m.

Friday

•Big ATV Air Tour, adult $15 and kids under 12 $10, 7 p.m.

Saturday

•Auto Cross, adult $10 and kids under 12 $5, 7 p.m.

Sunday

•Demolition Derby, adults $15 and kids under 12 $5, 1 p.m.