Kay County Oklahoma Free Fair Festival

Blackwell does not hold the county seat. Newkirk holds the seat; Blackwell holds the fair. The two facts come from different records. Kay County began as K County, with Newkirk selected as its seat, and Blackwell grew into the fair town anyway. Each mid-September its fairgrounds fill with livestock judging, school exhibits, and a priced midway, and its dates do not quite agree from one publication to the next.

The event’s own name is the Kay County Free Fair: the form on the cover of the fair book for the 108th and 109th fairs, in the Blackwell newspaper’s fair guides, and in the state tourism listing. A shorter form, Kay County Fair, turns up only as a headline shortening in local newspaper pages. The layers agree on the place: the Blackwell Fairgrounds in Blackwell, Oklahoma, in September, with entry days ahead of a six-day Tuesday to Sunday run.

The Fair, the Town, and the Seat That Is Somewhere Else

Kay County was originally designated K County, and Newkirk had been selected as the county seat, platted in 1893 by the federal government as the seat of K County. In the permanent-seat election of December 2, 1908, the governor declared Newkirk the winner with two thousand seven hundred seven votes to Blackwell’s two thousand six hundred fifty-six, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld Newkirk. The fair’s own records place it in Blackwell, and the state tourism service states the split plainly: although Newkirk is the seat of Kay County, the annual free fair is held in Blackwell.

Ponca City, the county’s largest city, is neither the seat nor the host, and board members who live there are listed by home town only. The fair book says the Annual Free Fair is to be held at the Fairgrounds in Blackwell, Oklahoma, in September. Its buildings map the fair: the Expo Center takes Domestic Science and Domestic Arts, School, Agriculture and 4-H, and Plants and Flowers entries; the Livestock Pavilion takes poultry and rabbits and the sheep and goat weigh-in; the Whitman Arena takes cattle and hog shows; and the Vernie Byler Horse Arena takes the horse show and speed events.

Quick Facts

Fact	Detail
Event	Kay County Free Fair, Blackwell Fairgrounds, Blackwell, Oklahoma
County seat	Newkirk, not the host town
Host town	Blackwell, not the county seat
Usual season	Six-day Tuesday to Sunday fair in mid-September, entry days ahead
2026 spans, unmerged	Book: September 8 to 13; guide: September 15 to 20; listing: September 14 to 20
Admission	Free only in the 2026 fair-week guide, 109th fair, September 15 to 20, 2026
Organiser forms	Board, Incorporated, in the book; Board as a short form; Foundation in a directory layer only
Exhibitor premiums	First place five dollars, second four dollars, third three dollars, in the book
Carnival	WEEE Entertainment, with 2024 and 2026 prices kept separate
Camping	No camping term in the fair book; no fair-week camping offer published

Why the Book, the Newspaper, and the Travel Listing Disagree About 2026

Three publications give three different spans for 2026, and none should be quietly replaced by another. The fair book, printed for 2025 and 2026 in advance, prints September 8 to 13, 2026, billed as the 109th fair. The book itself notes that its catalog was printed previous to final action on appropriations. The Blackwell Journal-Tribune’s 2026 fair-week guide gives the 109th fair as Tuesday, September 15 through Sunday, September 20, 2026, under the theme Stars, Stripes and County Nights. The state tourism listing gives September 14 to 20, 2026, at the Blackwell Fairgrounds. All three are printed here with their layers attached.

For a useful comparison, see the Johnston County Oklahoma Free Fair Festival for another county festival.

Earlier years are steadier, each fenced to its own layer. A college newsletter places the fair on September 12 to 17 in 2023. The newspaper’s board-released schedule places the 2024 fair on September 10 to 15, 2024, with Monday, September 9 as entry day. The fair book places the 2025 fair on September 9 to 14, 2025, billed as the 108th annual fair. No edition number for 2024 was found, so none is printed here.

The People Behind the Book

The fair book’s officers page names the Kay County Free Fair Board, Incorporated: President Tim Gilbert of Nardin, Vice-President Stacy Simunek of Blackwell, Secretary Zane Blubaugh of Ponca City, and Treasurer Karen Overman of Ponca City, with directors from Ponca City, Tonkawa, Newkirk and Blackwell. A shorter form, Kay County Free Fair Board, appears in Extension layers and in the newspaper’s 2024 layer, and the two forms are printed here as they appear, not collapsed into one legal name.

A third form, Kay County Free Fair Foundation, appears in a nonprofit directory layer tied to 800 South Main Street in Blackwell, and it is never the organiser in place of the board. The Kay County Extension office, which hosts the fair book on its site, is a supporting office, not the organiser. An Extension place layer gives the grounds as 898 South Main Street, while board and foundation layers give 800 South Main Street; neither is preferred over the other, so navigate to the Blackwell Fairgrounds by name.

History Without a Founding Year

No founding year for this fair appears in any fair-side layer fetched, and none is offered here. The billings are billing only: the 108th annual fair in 2025, in the fair book, and the 109th in 2026, in both the book and the newspaper guide. The guide’s colour about generations of Kay County youth is newspaper colour, not a founding record, and no skipped years are asserted.

The Thursday programme includes a covered-dish luncheon and programme by the Friends of 1893 Land Run, formerly the Old Settlers Reunion, commemorating the 1893 Cherokee Outlet land run, the county’s settlement story, not the fair’s beginning. Kay County was formed from the Cherokee Outlet as K County, and Ponca City and Blackwell sprang into existence at the September 16, 1893 opening: county facts, which do not date the fair.

What to Expect

The Buildings and the Week’s Named Days

Entry days come on Monday and Tuesday: Domestic Science and Domestic Arts, School, Agriculture and 4-H, and Plants and Flowers entries at the Expo Center, and poultry and rabbit check-in and horse entries on Tuesday. Through the week the judging runs across crops, education, 4-H and FFA work, and horticulture, with the Cattle Show in the Whitman Arena, the Sheep and Goat shows, and the Tractor Driving Contest.

Wednesday is Noble and Osage County Day; Thursday is Kansas Day, with the Friends of 1893 Land Run covered-dish luncheon and programme; Friday is Grant County and Rural School Day, with school tours, the 4-H and FFA Livestock Judging Contest, and the Hog Show; Saturday is the Kay County Horse Show for Open and 4-H and FFA exhibitors; Sunday brings the Kay County Horse Speed Events and the exhibit release.

The Midway and the Evening Stage in 2026

Only the 2026 guide carries a full evening programme. The carnival returns under WEEE Entertainment, and nightly entertainment at 7 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday is free in that guide: the Blackwell High School Marching Band on Tuesday, the NOC Roustabouts on Wednesday, the Imitators on Thursday, Justin Walker on Friday, and the Jason Boyd Band on Saturday. A Cornhole Tournament returns on Friday, September 18 at 5:30 p.m., and a Horseshoe Tournament is added for the first time on Saturday, September 19 at 5:30 p.m., partnered with Arthur’s, with entry to both tournaments free in the same guide.

The 2024 midway list belongs to 2024 alone: children’s rides including the Bear Affair, the Carousel, Kiddie Cars, Mini Jets, Motorcycles, Oscar and the Fish, the Space Train, the Super Slide, and Tractors, and adult and family rides including the Cliffhanger and the Zumur, both new that year, the Downdraft, the Ferris Wheel, the Freak Out, the Rock O’Plane, the Rockstar, the Sizzler, and the Tilt A Whirl.

Carnival Money, Plainly Stated

Carnival money is priced in every year fetched, and the prices differ between years. In the 2026 guide, a wristband costs thirty-three dollars per event promotion, for one session; a single ticket four dollars and fifty cents; a Family Pack forty dollars for ten tickets; a Super Saver Pack one hundred fifteen dollars for thirty tickets. Carnival hours in both years are Tuesday to Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. In 2024, a wristband costs thirty-three dollars per person, for one session; single tickets four dollars each, ten tickets thirty-five dollars, and thirty tickets one hundred dollars. All rides in 2024 cost one ticket per person, except the Freak Out, which costs two tickets, or a wristband plus one ticket.

The fair book states that, unless otherwise stated, all First Place Premiums will be five dollars, Second Place four dollars, and Third Place three dollars: premiums payable to exhibitors, never admission or entry fees.

Planning Your Visit

The Gate, Exactly As Published

The 2026 fair-week guide’s at-a-glance box states flatly that admission is free, for the 109th Kay County Free Fair, Tuesday, September 15 through Sunday, September 20, 2026, at the Blackwell Fairgrounds. That is the only published gate term this article can honestly give. No gate sentence for 2023, 2024, or 2025 was fetched, so the free term is never restated for those editions or sourced to the word Free in the title or name alone. The free nightly entertainment and free tournament entry in the same guide are their own lines, fenced to 2026.

Finding the Grounds, and a Sensible Fair Day

Head for the Blackwell Fairgrounds by name, and confirm the current year’s span in the current year’s guide before travelling, because the 2026 record alone contains three spans.

Camping, and What Is Not a Fair Offer

No camping term appears in the fair book, and no fair-week camping offer is published. Book ordinary lodging in Blackwell or nearby towns instead.

A Sample Visit: The Guide’s Week, Tuesday to Sunday

Follow the 2026 fair-week guide’s span, Tuesday, September 15 through Sunday, September 20: Tuesday, the Expo Center exhibits and the marching band at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, the exhibit halls on Noble and Osage County Day; Thursday, the land-run luncheon and the Imitators; Friday, school tours, livestock judging, the Hog Show, Justin Walker, and the Cornhole Tournament at 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, the horse show, the fullest midway, the first-time Horseshoe Tournament at 5:30 p.m., and the Jason Boyd Band; Sunday, the horse speed events and the exhibit release. Follow the book’s printed span instead, September 8 to 13, and you will be a week early by the guide’s account.

Two Versions of the Same Fair Week

The comparison that matters most here is not with another county’s fair but with its own publications: the book, the guide, and the listing each give part of the fair, and none is the whole truth on its own.

Before You Go: A Checklist

• Confirm the current year’s span in the current year’s guide, not the printed book alone.
• Navigate to the Blackwell Fairgrounds by name, since the record carries two South Main Street numbers.
• Budget for the carnival separately: in 2026, a wristband costs thirty-three dollars a session, a single ticket four dollars and fifty cents.
• Treat the 2026 guide’s free admission, free entertainment, and free tournament entry lines as 2026 lines only.
• Do not plan around a founding year, pageant, parade, or fireworks; none is documented.
• Do not book camping as a fair offer; the book contains no camping term.

Beyond the Fairgrounds

Blackwell in fair week has its fairgrounds full: school groups tour on Friday, neighbours have their named days, and families bring entries grown, sewn, baked, photographed, or raised at home.

Why This Fair Matters to Kay County

A fair with a book, a board, and more than one hundred editions behind it gives young exhibitors a standard to be judged against and gives the county a mid-September anchor, whether the book and the guide agree on the exact week or not. That continuity does not depend on any single founding year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is admission to the Kay County Free Fair free?

Only in the record that actually says so: the 2026 fair-week guide states that admission is free for the 109th fair, September 15 to 20, 2026, at the Blackwell Fairgrounds. No gate sentence for 2023, 2024, or 2025 was found, so the free line is not extended to those years, and the carnival remains priced in every year fetched.

Where is the fair held, and where is the county seat?

The fair is held at the Blackwell Fairgrounds in Blackwell, Oklahoma; Newkirk is the county seat. Blackwell is not the seat, Newkirk is not the host, and Ponca City, the largest city, is neither.

When is the fair usually held?

The standing shape is a six-day Tuesday to Sunday fair in mid-September, with entry days on Monday and Tuesday ahead of it. For 2026, three spans are published and unmerged: book, September 8 to 13; guide, September 15 to 20; listing, September 14 to 20. Confirm the current year’s guide before travelling.

What does it cost to ride the carnival?

In the 2026 guide, a wristband costs thirty-three dollars a session, a single ticket four dollars and fifty cents, ten tickets forty dollars, and thirty tickets one hundred fifteen dollars. In 2024, the same wristband costs thirty-three dollars, a single ticket four dollars, ten tickets thirty-five dollars, and thirty tickets one hundred dollars. Book premiums of five, four, and three dollars are exhibitor money.

What to Expect From the Next Kay County Oklahoma Free Fair Festival

How often is Kay County Oklahoma Free Fair Festival held?

The record shows an annual fair in mid-September, with the 108th annual fair in the 2025 book and the 109th in the 2026 book and guide, and no founding year is asserted from those billings.

When is the next Kay County Oklahoma Free Fair Festival?

Expect the next fair in mid-September, in the standing Tuesday to Sunday shape, with entry days ahead of it, and take the exact span from the current year’s fair guide, since the 2026 spans disagree.

Will the dates change?

The dates have already changed between publications for the same year, and the mid-September season is steadier than any single printed span. Expect the exact days to be confirmed by the current year’s guide.

A fair that prints its own book, names its own board, and fills seven buildings with exhibits, yet cannot get its own publications to agree on one week, is a working county fair with paperwork printed at different times. Read it carefully, and it gives everything needed for a good week in Blackwell, including, in the 2026 guide, a free gate for one edition, honestly fenced to that edition alone.