For as long as most people in Fort Payne can remember, the DeKalb County VFW Fair has run on a familiar clock. You know roughly how many evenings to set aside, when the livestock shows happen, when to swing by for funnel cake before the rides get crowded. This year that clock runs longer than it ever has.
The 71st Annual DeKalb County VFW Agricultural Fair opens Friday, Oct. 16, and doesn't wrap up until Oct. 24. That's nine days on the fairgrounds instead of the shorter run regulars are used to, and organizers describe it as the longest edition of the fair to date.
A Longer Fair, Built Around a Bigger Occasion
The extra nights aren't happening in a vacuum. This year's fair carries the theme "Happy 250th Birthday, America!," tying the county's own 71-year tradition to the country's semiquincentennial. Twin City Used Cars is serving as the 2026 Fair Week Sponsor, and Kissel Entertainment, the traveling amusement company whose history on midways stretches back to 1932, is bringing additional rides to match the longer schedule.
Organizers are framing 2026 as the biggest version of the fair the county has put on.
Opening Night, Mapped Out
The fair's own published calendar gives a clear picture of what opening night looks like:
| Detail | Friday, Oct. 16 |
|---|---|
| Gates open | 5 p.m. |
| Gate admission | $5 for ages 6 and up, free under 6 |
| Armbands | $30 each |
| Horse & Mule Show | 6:30 p.m. |
| Entertainment | Country act New Ground, 6 p.m. |
The rest of the nine nights follow a similar rhythm: gates open in the late afternoon, agricultural shows and livestock judging fill the early evening, and live music takes over once the sun starts going down. Ride tickets hold steady across the run at $1.50 plus tax each, or 22 tickets for $30 plus tax, so a family can do the math once and know what a night at the fair actually costs before they walk in.
One act repeats across the whole nine days rather than showing up for a single evening. The Pompeyo Family Dog Show, known nationally for its appearance on America's Got Talent, is booked as a nightly feature for the entire run. That's different from the usual pattern of a rotating lineup of local and regional acts each night. It's the same show, back every evening, which makes it one of the easier things to plan around if a specific night doesn't work for your schedule.
The Midway Runs on Plastic Now
If it's been a few years since you've walked the midway with cash in your pocket, that habit needs an update. Kissel Entertainment's midway operations are cashless, running on credit cards, debit cards, and tap-to-pay options like Apple Pay and Google Pay. For anyone who still shows up with bills folded in a pocket, there's a reverse ATM on-site that converts cash onto a prepaid Mastercard.
The useful detail here is what happens to money left on that card afterward. It isn't locked into the fairgrounds. Because it loads onto a standard prepaid Mastercard, any balance left over works anywhere that accepts Mastercard, not just at the ride tickets or food booths. That's a small thing, but it's the kind of detail that saves someone from either overloading a card with cash they won't spend or running short mid-evening.
If You've Got Something to Enter, the Clock's Already Running
For the households in DeKalb County who treat the fair as more than a spectator event, the remaining entry dates are worth marking down now rather than waiting until the gates open. Entries for art, photography, Lego, handicrafts, needlework, agriculture, baking, canning, and flowers are accepted Oct. 10 and 11, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Schools, clubs, scout troops, and homemaker groups entering booth competitions across Divisions 1 through 8 had to pre-register by Sept. 30, a deadline that had already passed. Booth setup then runs Oct. 7 through 11, with everything due in place by 3 p.m. that Sunday. Judging itself happens Monday, Oct. 12, and it's closed to the public, so anyone hoping to watch will need to wait for the fair's official opening a few days later to see how their entry placed.
There's a separate track for anyone building a scarecrow for Division Eight. Those also had to be pre-registered by Sept. 30, and the scarecrow itself has to be on-site by noon on Oct. 6.
One Set of Fairgrounds, Two Fall Traditions
The same VFW Fairgrounds that host livestock shows and country music sets in mid-October don't go quiet once the fair packs up. Later in the fall, the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce holds its annual Halloween Block Party on the same grounds, a free trick-or-treat event where downtown businesses set up along the fairgrounds and hand out candy to families walking through.
It's worth knowing that connection exists, because it means the fairgrounds function as Fort Payne's default fall gathering spot twice in the same season rather than once. The rides and judging tables clear out, and a few weeks later the same footprint fills back up with costumes.
Nine days is a lot of fair, but it's also nine chances to catch the parts you'd otherwise have to choose between: the Friday night Horse & Mule Show, a night built around the Pompeyo Family Dog Show, whatever the ride lineup looks like once Kissel Entertainment's added inventory is up and running. However you split those evenings up, the fairgrounds this October are worth the trip more than once.
If a season like this one has you thinking about what it would mean to actually put down roots in a town where the county fair still runs on handshake sponsorships and a 71-year handshake with the whole community, Valley Real Estate Co. is always glad to talk through what that looks like in Fort Payne.
