Clay County Fair & Events Center — Local services in Spencer

Ever since I've been a young child, I've grown up attending the Clay County Fair with my parents and family each year in September. This county fair has always been unique for the area, as it was the last of all of them, taking place after school had already started, and providing a nice break away from it all on a weekend. There's the traditional livestock shows and Nutty Bar stands, and free entertainment tents as well as paid-ticket concerts. As an adult, I still enjoy coming with friends or even alone, as it's great fun to walk around and see all what this fair has to offer. Locals know the Clay County Fair as the largest and "best" one of the area, but I've heard of fair guests from quite far away for that matter. I look forward to someday taking my...

Great place to take the kids. $45 for 50 ride tickets, and the rides coat 3-5 tickets per person. Little ones require an escort, and on most rides the escort must pay tickets as well. Some of the rides had broken parts, like one of the helicopters did not go up and down on the circular helicopter ride. My kids were upset that everyone else's helicopter went up and down, but the attendant let them go again on another helicopter on the next ride. Some of the staff speak no English at all. The food is normal carnival food, and was much more reasonably priced than where we came from. There are typically carnival games that can be played with cash to win prizes. We got there early, around 9am. We left about noon, and the place was really starting to get...

Still the premier county fair in Iowa, a smaller, less crowded version of the Iowa Stae Fair. Free parking north of the fairgrounds. My grandkids love the midway. We buy wristbands to hold down the cost, and lines tend to be very short so they can ride to their hearts content. It's always been a really great ag fair with a large display area, but also has multiple vendors of household products, as well as a sizeable recreational footprint. I always make sure I have a couple of the Y's Nutty Bars, but there is a wide selection of food for all. We also took in a couple of free tent shows (The Britan's put on a spot on tribute of Beatles music), and in the evening we watched a tremendous show in the Grandstand headlined by Peter Noone with...