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“The fair celebrated by asking every community in Wilson County to have a booth to showcase their community\u2019s history. My father was president of the Norene Community Club. I helped my parents with the exhibit by planning and gathering items to be displayed. Each community held a celebration leading up to the fair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the McPeaks, that bicentennial celebration fueled a love and dedication to the Wilson County Fair spanning nearly four decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy husband, Terry, and I were asked to be on the board of directors in 1988. We had three young sons, Justin, Luke, and Travis. As our sons grew older, we had different people entertain them at the fair so I could help in the office or at the gates. Our boys grew up at the fair, serving on the youth board, exhibiting their livestock, entering exhibits, and participating in 4-H activities. We have made lots of memories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When 2002 rolled around, leaders asked Helen to take on a larger role. \u201cI moved to the fair office two to three weeks before the fair to work on schedules for volunteers, help with promotional mailings, daily newsletters, and customer service, like answering questions or whatever was needed. I worked part-time until I was asked to become the interim fair coordinator. I\u2019ve been the executive director for the past 15 years. I\u2019ve been blessed to be in this place and be part of the growth throughout the years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2025 fair\u2019s theme was \u201cYear of Pork,\u201d and its motto was \u201cGoing Hog Wild & Bacon Memories.\u201d Each year, the overall theme is \u201c95 Reasons to Celebrate Tennessee,\u201d which reflects 100% participation by all 95 counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With over 2,700 volunteers, 16 stages for live entertainment by locals \u2014 created to rival the Grand Ole Opry, which used to be located nearby \u2014 over 150 livestock shows, and different motor sports competing each night, this year was the best yet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exhilarating fair food competitions and contests such as harmonica, pig callin\u2019, pig tail hair competitions, and the Great Bacon Toss, along with celebrity and costume swine shows, the AgVenture Experience, Dexter Cattle Show, and the Tennessee Garden Party delighted fairgoers of all ages. This year, they also debuted new rides, including the Tennessee Lift, Lightning, Samba Balloons, Star Jet, and Treasure Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All profits are rolled into the next year\u2019s fair and used for improvements at the James E. Ward Agricultural Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can literally attend all 10 days and not see all the fair has to offer,\u201d Helen said. \u201cWe are mindful to provide a \u2018Wow!\u2019 experience, making the fair new and fresh each year. This makes people want to come back from year to year to experience the new as well as all of the traditional activities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Helen continued, \u201cWilson County has always strived to be the very best fair we could be and to showcase the skills and talents of our county. Adding the Tennessee State Fair has been very successful. To be a true state fair, we needed all 95 counties to be showcased. Every fairgoer can walk through county by county in the \u2018Made in Tennessee\u2019 building and see what makes each county unique and special. Fairgoers can see the \u2018Best of Tennessee Champion Exhibits\u2019 that will be competing for the \u2018Best of the Best of Tennessee Award.\u2019 It is special to say, \u2018I won the Best of Tennessee State Champion\u2019 award at the state fair. An Iris Cup Award is also awarded among all the Best of Tennessee Champions each year. This is the ultimate to be selected to win this award.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2026 agricultural focus will be: the Year of Forestry. \u201cOur overall theme will be \u201895 Reasons to Celebrate Tennes- see\u2019 – \u2018Voices and Volunteers.\u2019 We will be celebrating America\u2019s 250th birthday in 2026. We kicked off the celebration at the fair, but next year will be the grand finale,\u201d said Helen. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ALTHOUGH TENNESSEE didn\u2019t officially join the United States until 1796, Lamar Alexander, the state\u2019s 45th governor, proposed a bicentennial celebration in 1986 to mark 200 years since the first settlements in 1786. This \u201cTennessee Homecoming \u201986,\u201d as it was called, marked 200 years of the earliest settlements being formed. In 1983, during Gov. Alexander\u2019s inaugural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":23029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lebanon","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/lebanon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/10\/3-1024x683.png\")
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