Monroe County Fairgrounds — Local services in Bloomington

Very nice fairgrounds.

4-H fair: Animal barns are nicely organized right next to each other. There are barns for goats, sheep, beef, dairy, swine, poultry, rabbits, and horses. I have never been in 4-H or shown any animals, but the pens seem very nice and spacious in every barn. The food vendors are everywhere, most of them are quite pricey, but thats how fairs are. The rides and parking are why I gave 4 stars. Some of the rides aren't in the best shape. I'm sure it isn't the fairs fault, but whoever they contact for the rides needs some work. They have very popular rides like the pirate ship, a ferris wheel, the scrambler, a very large slide with the potato bags, very many kiddy rides like the small cars, with additions that change every year like the hangliders, swings, and a very large claw-like ride that swings side to side. A few fun houses. Plenty of games like the fishing game, plenty of balloon popping games, gun shooting games to shoot the star out or spray the water to win the race, but all are very pricey. No goldfish or hermit crab prizes, take that as you will, all prizes are either balls or stuffed animals. Admission into the fair changes often. Some years they charge per car load for parking, with "free" admission into the fair, some years they have free parking, but charge per person to get into the fair. Parking is kind of a hassle, they flag you to park and cannot park anywhere else. During popular nights like firework nights or the demolition derby, theres only one exit out of the fairgrounds and its verybody for themself. If you're very stern and not considerate, you can probably get out in 5-15 minutes. But if you're nice, and let everybody cut you off, you can expect to wait anywhere between 30 mins to 2 hours to get out. Only reason for 4 stars is the parking situation.

Other uses: My family used to rent out the Community Building for our Easter and Thanksgiving dinners. Nice facility with tables, chairs, bathroom, and a small kitchen. The building is air conditioned, but the rental prices increased each year, and eventially drove my family elsewhere for...

I WENT TO MONROE COUNTY FAIR ON WEDNESDAY JULY 30TH 2014. I AM HANDICAPPED HAD HAULED MY 250 POUND ELECTRIC WHEEL CHAIR IN MY OLD JUNK CAR IN ORDER TO BRING MY GRANDCHILDERN TO THE FAIR..IM PHYSICALLY NOT ABLE TO RIDE ANY OF YOUR RIDES. BUT NON THE LESS I HAD TO PAY $15.00 TO GET A BRACLETT THAT I COULDN'T USE BECAUSE OF MY PHYSICAL PROBLEMS.NOT ONLY THAT BUT I HAD 2 CHILDREN THAT HAS FEAR OF HIGHTS AN SPEEDS THAT WERE ONLY GONNA HAVE TO PAY FOR A COUPLE OF RIDES FOR EACH OF THEM . WE WERE GOING TO PLAY THE GAMES ME MY DAUGHTER AN 2 OF MY GRANDCHILDERN. SO I WOULD HAVE ONLY HAD TO PAY OUT $ 25 OR $ 30 FOR RIDES AN THEN WE WOULD HAVE HAD THE MONEY TO PLAY THE GAMES. BUT DUE TO THE POLICES LAST NIGHT I HAD TO WASTE APPROX. $40 . CAUSE FOUR OF US DIDN'T RIDE ANYTHING. SO INSTEAD OF PLAYING GAMES WHICH WE COULDN'T DUE BECAUSE ALL I HAD WENT ON UNUSED BRACELETS. AN TO SEE THE ELDERLY AN THE HANDY CAP PATRONS WITH BRACELET ON THAT DIDN'T AN WOULD'T HAVE RODE THE RIDES , ALSO WASTED MONEY.I BELIEVE THIS TO BE UNFAIR TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. SO WE COULD'T PLAY GAMES OR NOTHING BECAUSE IT COST ME SO MUCH TO GET US ALL IN. IM ASSUMING THAT THIS IS HOW YOU MAKE YOUR MONEY. CAUSE OF THE...

This is a good place to go once a year. It's got the sort of layout you want in a fairground. There are some big buildings where people can set up tables to hand out pamphlets, there are some grassy areas where carnies can put up rides and games, and over all it's very flat so you don't get tired walking around. I also have enjoyed my fair share of delicious elephant ears and tenderloins here. If you've got a band that plays some music, there's a little shelter where you can play for people eating pork snacks. Animals seem to love it too, so bring them...