Douglas County Fair returns demolition derby, carnival and pony rides
The demolition derby, carnival, pony rides and cornhole tournaments are back at the Douglas County Fair, which runs through Aug. 2 at 2120 Harper St. in Lawrence.
The 2026 Douglas County Fair will bring back the demolition derby, carnival, pony rides and cornhole tournaments at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. in Lawrence. Douglas County says the fair runs through Saturday, Aug. 2, and directs visitors to the county fair website or the Douglas County Extension Office at 785-843-7058 for times, tickets, prices and event details.
The derby remains one of the fair’s biggest crowd draws. In 2019, demolition derby organizers estimated 1,600 people attended, a sign that the thudding arena event still anchors the fair’s summer appeal for families looking for the loudest night on the grounds. The carnival and pony rides give the fair a different kind of pull, pairing midway rides and livestock-friendly attractions with a schedule that also includes cornhole tournaments.
Douglas County’s 4-H calendar lists June 3-6 for this year’s 4-H events, and all 4-H entries plus open class livestock entries had to be filed through the online entry system by 11:59 p.m. June 30. That entry cutoff matters for families and exhibitors who want livestock in the ring, because the fair’s schedule stretches beyond the show arena and into the late-summer run at the fairgrounds.
For Douglas County residents deciding how to spend a summer day or night, the fair’s biggest draws are the most concrete ones: the demolition derby for spectacle, the carnival for rides and food, and the pony rides for younger children. The fairgrounds at 21st and Harper streets will be the center of it all until Aug. 2, and county officials are steering anyone needing day-by-day details to the Extension Office at 785-843-7058.
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