KENOSHA, Wis. — The 2026 Kenosha County Fair opens Wednesday and before the gates officially opened, fair crews spent Tuesday putting the finishing touches on everything from animal barns to food stands and the concert stage.
“We always say it’s the best five days of summer, so we’re super excited,” said fair manager Jenny Hesse.
One of the fair’s biggest traditions was already underway ahead of opening day: judging for the junior class competition. Judges reviewed dozens of entries, ranging from photography and woodworking projects to electricity displays and derby cars.
Eight-year-old Conner Myers entered a derby car he worked hard to complete, excited to get a ribbon.
“He loves cheese, so he put holes in it,” said his grandfather, Dave Zirbel.
Longtime fair judge Steve Gellings said the judging process focuses on more than just whether a project looks perfect.
“One of the things I would look for would be safety when they build things, that they’re using safe practices, that they’ve wired it correctly, they’re using good-quality materials,” Gellings said.
Gellings, who has judged at the fair for more than 40 years, said contestants can still earn top honors even if their projects have flaws.
“They can bring in a project that’s not perfect and still get a blue ribbon because, when we sit down and we talk, they can tell me more about what they learned, what challenges they had, what new tools they got to learn,” Gellings said.
For 18-year-old Aliyah, the fair’s photography competition has become a yearly tradition. She is proud of how her entries did this year.
“Mainly first- and second-place,” Aliyah said.
Even the photos that didn’t take first place came with valuable feedback.
“She said they’re very symmetrical, so she’ll give me a first, but then on these ones I just had to do a little editing to make them a little brighter, but that’s second,” Aliyah said.
Aliyah said she’s proud of how much she has learned through the competition and hopes her younger sisters will find activities they enjoy enough to enter themselves.
“I hope they really focus on what they want to do, and if they want to do it, just do it,” Aliyah said. “It doesn’t hurt to try once.”
The Kenosha County Fair runs until Aug. 25.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
