134th Gillespie County Fair kicks off Thursday

The oldest county fair in Texas kicks off in Gillespie County Thursday at 5 p.m. with free admission to the Gillespie County FairGrounds. There will be free Tejano concerts provided by Erik Y. Massores.

The 2022 fair is expected to draw people from around the county and the Texas Hill Country who want to see the scheduled horse racing, parade, queen’s contest, livestock exhibitions and enjoy the musical entertainment. The parade is set to begin Friday morning at 10 a.m. beginning on Main Street, with the fair events following its conclusion at roughly 1 p.m.

The 2023 Gillespie County Fair Queen and her court will be crowned during ceremonies planned Friday, August 26, at 7 p.m. The three contestants this year are Addison Hahn, Addison Schoessor and Audrey Williams.

Government and school offices will close and modify services this weekend to accommodate for the fair. County and city offices will be closed on Friday, August 26.

Federal offices will be open for business on Friday and state offices will observe regular business hours. All postal service offices will be open as usual on Friday and Saturday.

Trash collection schedules will be observed on Friday, but the Recycling Center will be closed on Friday. The Recycling Center will reopen for regular hours on Saturday.

The landfill will be closed on Friday but will be open for regular hours on Saturday. The Animal Shelter will be closed on Friday and will reopen for regular business hours on Monday.

There will be no school on Friday for Fredericksburg ISD, Doss CCSD, St. Mary’s Catholic School and Heritage School. Harper ISD will have school, and Ambleside School classes begin on August 30.