The Stoddard County Fair Turns 99: A Week That Runs Dexter Every September

For one week every September, the population of Dexter effectively relocates to 500 Fairgrounds Drive. The Stoddard County Fair is the oldest continuously running thing on the local calendar, and in 2026 it runs for the 99th time — September 22nd through the 26th.

A county fair is easy to be condescending about if you didn’t grow up near one. It’s also, in a town of eight thousand, the single largest gathering of the year, the place where 4-H kids find out whether a season of work paid off, and one of the few remaining events where four generations of the same family show up on the same night.

What’s on

• The midway, run by Tinsley Amusements, with rides nightly
• 4-H competitions — livestock, exhibits, and the judging that goes with them
• Baked goods and animal exhibits
• Live music on the main stage — the 2026 lineup includes Isaac Kenneth, The Lighthouse Church, Peyton Len Ford, Saturn Cowboys and Amber Duley
• Food and games, which is most of why anyone under twelve is there

When to go, and what it costs

Gates typically open at 5:00 PM on weeknights. Saturday opens at noon, with rides starting at 1:00 PM — the best option if you’re bringing small children and would rather not be there after dark.

Admission is $5.00 for adults and free for children six and under.

Why a 99-year-old county fair still works

The fair is run by a fair board — local people, unpaid, who also handle grounds improvements between years. That detail explains more about the event than the schedule does. It exists because a group of residents keeps deciding it should.

For a town this size, the fair does something a calendar of smaller events can’t: it puts everyone in the same place at the same time. New residents who show up in September end up meeting more of Dexter in one evening than they would in three months of ordinary life here.

If you’re going

Stoddard County Fairgrounds 500 Fairgrounds Drive, Dexter, MO 63841

Current schedules, the full entertainment lineup and 4-H entry details are on the fair’s own site at stoddardcountyfair.com (opens in a new tab), and the Dexter Chamber of Commerce lists it on the community events calendar.

Next year is the hundredth

Which means this one is the last of the first century, and the 2027 fair is going to be something. Worth being here for both.