Fair music and more
Rodeo, big cat shows, concert highlight fair entertainment
BY MIKE LEWIS | mikel@tmnews.com
Friday, July 9, 2010
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Entertainment at this year’s Lawrence County 4-H Fair will range from horsepower — both the mechanical and animal kinds — to wild animal shows and an award-winning musician.
Fair-goers can take in a demolition derby or a tractor pull, root for their favorites in quad and cycle races, see the pros compete in a rodeo and take in free big cat and country music shows.
Professional rodeo
Cowboys will vie for points July 17 when the Wagon Wheel Professional Rodeo competition comes to the fairgrounds.
It will feature traditional rodeo events, from riding bulls and broncs to roping cattle, wrestling steers and racing around barrels.
The action will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $12 and will be available only at the gate. (Children younger than 6 will be admitted free.)
Big cats
The free entertainment will include Kay Rosaire’s Big Cat Encounter, presented by Clayton Rosaire. There will be two shows (at 6 and 8 p.m.) each night, July 12 through 17.
Clayton Rosaire is billed as the “ninth generation of England’s premiere animal handling family” and is the first born in the United States. He first entered the cage to face the big cats alone at the age of 17 — at that time, he was the youngest lion and tiger trainer in the world.
His animal training, husbandry and performance skills were passed down by his mother, Kay Roasire, an acclaimed trainer in her own right. They use rewards rather than fear to coax the big cats into a sequential routine of natural behaviors upon command.
The Rosaires also offer animals safe havens at their two sanctuaries, the Sarasota Bradenton Children’s Zoo and Gulf Coast Sanctuary and the Big Cat Habitat. Both are nonprofit organizations that take in mistreated and unwanted animals.
Free concert
D.J. Miller, billed as “country music’s rising star,” will perform in a free concert at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Miller’s third CD, “At It Again,” was released in March and his first single, “A Little Naughty Is Nice,” will be released nationally June 21. (Go to www.djmillercountry.com to hear recordings and see videos.)
Miller, from Idaville, has appeared in various venues, from Philadelphia to Nashville, Tenn., to the Indiana State Fair. He won the 2008 talent search contest at the Little Nashville Opry in Nashville, Ind., and was chosen to be among the featured guest performers before the building was destroyed by a fire.
He released his first CD, “Home Town Kid,” in 2007. His second CD, “Here’s To You,” was released in 2008.
Times-Mail Managing Editor Mike Lewis welcomes comments at 277-7258 and mikel@tmnews.com.Fair shows
Some of the entertainment at the Lawrence County 4-H Fair
JULY 10
7:30 p.m.: Horse pull competition ($8 for adults; $5 for ages 17-12; free for ages 6 and younger).
JULY 11
7:30 p.m.: Demolition derby and mini car heat ($8 for adults; $5 for ages 17-12; free for ages 6 and younger).
JULY 12
7:30 p.m.: Go-kart races ($8 for adults; $5 for ages 17-12; free for ages 6 and younger).
JULY 13
7:30 p.m.: Quads competition ($8 for adults; $5 for ages 17-12; free for ages 6 and younger).
JULY 14
7:30 p.m.: Cycle races ($8 for adults; $5 for ages 17-12; free for ages 6 and younger).
JULY 15
7:30 p.m.: Tractor pull competition ($8 for adults; $5 for ages 17-12; free for ages 6 and younger).
JULY 16
7:30 p.m.: Truck pull competition ($8 for adults; $5 for ages 17-12; free for ages 6 and younger).
JULY 17
7:30 p.m.: Wagon Wheel Professional Rodeo ($12 at the gate; children younger than 6 admitted free).
