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The 2024 Ionia Free Fair Queen Rebecca Hopkins, far left, and her court, Hailey Miller and Addyson Roundtree, were among more than 70 entries in last year’s Ionia Free Fair parade. This year’s parade is set for 11:30 a.m. on July 12. It begins on the corner of Main and Kidd and ends at the fairgrounds. — DN file photo
IONIA — The “10 best days of summer” will be upon us before you know it (July 10-19), and this year, one lucky attendee of the Ionia Free Fair is going to win a car.
The prize vehicle is a 2023 Chevy Malibu sponsored by Car City.
“They contacted us about a sponsorship, then they came up with this idea to give away a car,” said Free Fair Manager Mike Clark. “It’s free to enter, and anybody can enter just by going into the Merchants Building. The rules are on our website, so check that out. We are pretty excited about it.”
Another way to save money on fair food this year is to take advantage of $10 meal deals from certain vendors.
“Select vendors will have $10 meal deals,” Clark noted. “Whether it’s a burger and fries or a lemonade and a corn dog, we’re having a lot of deals like that this year and a lot of new things going on, so like I said, we’re pretty excited.”
Other new attractions include a strolling three-piece percussion band called “Boom,” a “thrill show,” a volleyball tournament and a butterfly exhibit.
Thursday, July 10
The Free Fair kicks off with the ribbon cutting for a new entertainment venue at 5 p.m. on July 10.
The final few “floats” in last year’s Ionia Free Fair parade were large farm machines, pictured, and pieces of equipment used by the Ionia County Road Department. This year’s parade is set for 11:30 a.m. on July 12. — DN file photo
Constructed this spring, the new M1 E Park Pavilion is a covered, 8,400-square-foot performance venue, 60 feet wide, 140 feet long and 23 feet tall. It sits across from the grandstand and next to the Merchants Building, taking the place of the old “E! Park,” which was a tent rented year after year for $19,000 a pop.
“We also put in some new asphalt around that pavilion,” Clark said. “We’ve completed some other improvements since last year as well. The Floral Building is getting painted, we’re doing some electrical upgrades in the campground and we’ve installed new wash racks in the back of the livestock barn.”
The Free Fair Foundation will begin its kickoff dinner, a ticketed event, at 5 p.m. in the new venue.
The midway (where all the food and rides are) and the Merchant Building with all of its exhibits will also open at 5 p.m.
The Free Fair 5K race begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by the contest to select this year’s fair queen at 7 p.m. For more information or to register for the race, visit ioniafreefair.com.
Ongoing events throughout the week will include 4-Hers showing and judging their animals and still exhibits, displays of antiques and creations by the fair’s art, photography and horticultural departments in the Floral Building and the “Miracle of Life” exhibit in the Agri-Science Division.
Friday, July 11
The midway and Merchant Building will open at 1 p.m and close at 11 p.m. on July 11, the first full day of fair. Bingo begins at 4 p.m. and will run until 10 p.m.
The 4-H poultry and waterfowl show is in the Covered Arena at 4:30 p.m.
There will be free entertainment in the new E Park venue all day long, starting at 1 p.m. with a performance by the Ionia High School Dance Team. Drake’s Mystic Magic Show will commence at 3 p.m., local favorite singer Caitlin Cusack will perform at 6 p.m. and rock band Jedi Mind Trip will take the stage at 8 p.m.
“Jedi Mind Trip plays a wide variety of things,” Clark said. “We have several new bands playing in the new E Park pavilion this year.”
An “ag industry” breakfast will take place in the E Park from 9 to 11 a.m. Tickets are $8 for anybody age 6 and older, those younger will not require a paid ticket.
The first grandstand event taking place is the incredibly popular and somewhat noisy Monster Truck Throwdown. The pit party, where you can meet the drivers and collect their autographs, starts at 5 p.m. and the show will get underway at 7 p.m. Adult and teen tickets are $20, children 6 to 11 are $12 and kids age 5 and younger can get in free. Tickets are available online at ioniafreefair.com or at the Free Fair box office at the Fairgrounds.
Saturday, July 12
This year’s Free Fair parade theme is “A Summer Celebration,” and the action will begin at Main and Kidd at 11:30 a.m. on July 12. The parade will make its way down Steele to Brown and will conclude at the Fairgrounds entrance.
A total of 33 4-H’ers qualified for and participated in last year’s Ionia County Showmanship Sweepstakes competition, with six 4-H’ers named reserve and grand champions in three separate divisions. This year’s Showmanship Sweepstakes is set for 5 p.m. on July 18 in the Covered Arena. — DN file photo
“We are predicting a comfortably warm day for our 2025 Ionia Free Fair grand opening parade,” said Free Fair Parade Director Tom Millard. “We have high school marching bands, floats with lovely queens from surrounding festivals and communities and decorated entries from a variety of area organizations. The IFF parade is an annual event that thousands look forward to each year.”
The Covered Arena will be the site of the dairy feeder show at 9 a.m. and the rabbit and cavy show at 3 p.m., and the 4-H Cloverbud stick horse show is in the Outdoor Arena at 3 p.m.
The Merchant Building and the midway will open at 1 p.m. and close at 11 p.m. and bingo will run from 4 to 10 p.m.
The Monster Truck Showdown returns to the grandstands at the same times and with the same ticket prices.
Free entertainment in the E Park starts at 1 p.m. with Drake’s Mystic Magic Show. The kids talent show will take place at 2 p.m., Dead End Dailey will perform at 5 p.m. and the Mega 80s cover band will close that day’s fair fun with an 8 p.m. set of classic songs from that decade.
Sunday, July 13
The Merchant Building and the midway will open at 1 p.m. and close at 11 p.m. on July 13 and bingo will run from 4 to 10 p.m.
Free entertainment in the E Park starts at 1 p.m. with Drake’s Mystic Magic Show, followed by a talent show at 3 p.m.
The 4-H dairy cattle show is in the Covered Arena and the “English Day” horse show is in the Outdoor Horse Arena at 9 a.m. The beef show will be in the Covered Arena at 4 p.m. and the rabbit, poultry and cavy costume show will be in the Rabbit Barn at 6 p.m.
The grandstands will host Unique Motor Sports “Night of Destruction” demolition derby and “Twisted Trailer” derby, another somewhat noisy but totally irresistible event where various types of vehicles are driven into, over and through one another, crashing violently to the delight and amusement of the huge crowd. The show starts at 6 p.m. Tickets for people age 6 and older are $15, kids 5 and younger get in free. Tickets are available at ioniafreefair.com or in the Free Fair office at the Fairgrounds.
Monday, July 14
July 14 has been designated “Senior Wellness Day” at the fair from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with buy-one-get-one-free wristbands sponsored by Arnold Amusements.
“That is a killer deal,” Clark opined.
From left, Ionia County 4-H’ers Lane McDonald (senior), Adriana Kruger (intermediate) and Hadlee Martin (junior) show pigs during last year’s Ionia County 4-H Showmanship Sweepstakes championship event at the Ionia County Fairgrounds. This year’s Showmanship Sweepstakes is set for 5 p.m. on July 18 in the Covered Arena. — DN file photo
The Merchant Building will be open from 3 to 10 p.m., the midway will open at 4 p.m. and close at 11, and bingo will run from 4 to 10 p.m.
Don’t miss the pie and cake auction in the Mercantile Bank Building at 7 p.m. with pastries galore prepared and baked by local experts. It’s a fresh, homemade alternative to all the processed, fried foods out on the midway.
The 4-H dairy goat show is in the Covered Arena and the “Western Day” horse show is in the Outdoor Horse Arena at 9 a.m. The market goat show is in the Covered Arena at 2 p.m., followed by the sheep show at 4 p.m.
Unique Motor Sports will have a demolition derby at the grandstands at 7 p.m. at the same ticket prices as the prior day’s show.
Free entertainment in the E Park gets underway at 5 p.m. with Drake’s Mystic Magic Show, followed by a performance by Twister at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, July 15
July 15 is Kids Day at the fair from 2 to 4 p.m.
The 4-H swine show will be in the Livestock Barn at 8 a.m., then the 4-H Cloverbud scavenger hunt will take place at 9 a.m. The gallon of milk sale is in the Covered Arena at 6 p.m., immediately followed by the dairy feeder calf auction.
The Merchant Building will open at 1 p.m. and close at 11 p.m., the midway will be open from 3 to 11 p.m. and bingo will run from 4 to 10 p.m.
The grandstands will host the S.J.O. Motocross “Michigan Fair State Supercross Series” motorcycle races at 7 p.m. Tickets to that event are $12 for those 6 and older and free for anybody younger.
Wednesday, July 16
July 16 is Cops Day at the fair all day, from open to close.
The Merchant Building and the midway will both open at 1 p.m. and close at 11 p.m., and bingo will run from 4 to 10 p.m.
Drake’s Mystic Magic Show will perform at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the E Park, and local band 404 Delux will play a set at 7 p.m.
It’s “Pattern Day” of the 4-H horse show in the Outdoor Horse Arena at 9 a.m. Later in the day, at 5:30 p.m., is the small animal auction in the Covered Arena.
Thumb tractor pulling starts at the grandstands at 7 p.m. The types of tractor participating in that event will include 5500 V-8 hot rods with light/limited mods, 8000 Diesel Pro Stock, 93 Super Farm, 6200 Pro Street pickup, 6200 Super Stock pickups and Hot Diesel pickups. Tickets to the pull are $12 unless you’re 5 or younger, then you can get in free.
Thursday, July 17
July 17 is Veterans Day at the fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It’s also the extremely popular “$5 before 5 p.m. party with $5 parking, $5 food items, $5 drinks and other $5 special deals around the fairgrounds.
The small animal auction, shown in 2024, is always a fast-paced event at the Ionia Free Fair. This year’s small animal auction is set for 5:30 p.m. on July 16 in the Covered Arena. — DN file photo
“There are so many deals, like $5 elephant ears, $5 bags of cotton candy and lots of other good deals to be had,” Clark noted. “I don’t even know them all, there are a ton. Those were just the ones that stood out to me, so that is going to be great.”
The Merchant Building will open at 1 p.m. and close at 10 p.m., the midway will open at 1 p.m and close at 11 p.m. and bingo will run from 4 to 10 p.m.
The 4-H horse show in the Outdoor Horse Arena at 9 a.m. will feature costume followed by speed events. The large animal auction is in the Covered Arena at 4 p.m., always a fun event to watch even if you have no intention of buying an animal.
Drake’s Mystic Magic Show will kick off the day’s free E Park entertainment at 2:30 p.m., followed by Alter Ego at 4 p.m. Tommy and the Rock Show, a tribute to 70s/80s hitmakers Journey, at 7 p.m.
The grandstand event that evening will be the Great Lake Lightning Sprints at 7 p.m. During this event, “winged sprint cars” that are about 3/4 the size of a regular vehicle, with 1,000 cc motorcycle motors installed, zoom around the dirt track at insane speeds.
“They are new to the grandstand this year,” Clark noted. “That is going to be a really cool, exciting show.”
The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for those age 6 and up, and children ages 5 and younger are free.
Friday, July 18
July 18 is Ladies Day at the fair from 10 a.m. to noon.
Most of the day’s action is in the Covered Arena, with the livestock judging competition scheduled to take place at 9 a.m., followed by the large animal market awards celebration at 1 p.m., showmanship sweepstakes at 5 p.m. and the 4-H and FFA dance from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.
The Merchant Building and the midway both open at 1 p.m., but the Merchant Building closes at 10 p.m. and the midway closes at 11 p.m.. Bingo will run from 4 to 10 p.m.
Drake’s Mystic Magic Show will perform twice at the E Park, first at 1 p.m. and again at 3 p.m. Local band Blueskye plays at 5 p.m., followed by ’90s tribute band Class of ’98 at 8 p.m.
The Twisted P Rodeo comes to the grandstands at 7 p.m. Tickets for the rodeo are $15 for those 12 and older, $10 for kids ages 6 through 11 or free for those 5 and younger.
Saturday, July 19
The fair will close on July 19, which is usually a good time to look for unadvertised specials and other special deals from food and other vendors.
The Merchant Building and the midway will open at 1 p.m. and close at 10 p.m. and bingo will run from 4 to 10 p.m.
There will be a variety of live music in the E Park, especially during the “local band jam” from 1 to 4 p.m. Some People’s Kids play at 6 p.m., followed by Exit 73 at 7:30 and Professor Numb at 9 p.m.
The Covered Arena will host “Kelsey’s Cowabunga Classic Sand Volleyball Tournament,” a co-ed competition open to participants between the ages of 12 and 20. Registration is $15 and includes a T-shirt (the deadline to register was June 16). The top-placing team in each division will be eligible for a cash prize.
That evening, the grandstand will host its final event, the Dirt X SxS Racing Series, featuring off-road side-by-side racing. Tickets for that event are $10 for people 6 and older, younger people are admitted for free.
Maps, schedules and more information about the Ionia Free Fair can be found at ioniafreefair.com. One might also want to follow one of their social media accounts to receive the very latest updates. For other inquiries, call (616) 527-1310 or email office@ioniafreefair.com.
