Planning already underway for next year’s fair
The banner for the 2027 Steele County Free Fair has been designed and is now displayed on the side of the grandstand. Staff photo by Karen M. Jorgensen
The 2026 Steele County Free Fair is barely history, but fair officials are already busy planning next year’s event.
Bright Lights & Blue Ribbons has been chosen as theme for the 2027 fair.
In the past, fair officials asked for people to send in their suggestions and a winner was selected from those suggestions. This year, however, the fair board decided to try something different.
Rather having a competition for the next theme, said Fair Manager Scott Kozelka, the decision was made to have “a bunch of people” brainstorm and come up with suggestions. This included fair officials, staff, department superintendents, basically anyone who had an opinion, offering ideas. There were some suggestions out there about 2027 being the 100th year of a free fair but that caused concerns about some people thinking the fair itself is only 100 years old.
One thought that kept coming up, he said, was that just about everyone who commented said the fair seemed brighter this year. That, they decided, was probably because of the sling shot and the Big Wheel on the carnival.
So that is where the first part of the new slogan, Bright Lights, came from. The second part, Blue Ribbons, is in recognition of the many ribbons given out during the fair for 4-H, FFA and Open Class entries.
The new banner was designed and made public on the side of the Grandstand during the 2026 fair. There have already been comments, Kozelka said, from people saying how much they like it.
While the final numbers are still being counted for the 2026 fair, he said, planning is already under way for next year’s big event.
Planning for an event the size of the Steele County Free Fair is really a year-long job, he said.
Next year’s activities will also highlight the fact that the fair will celebrate its 100th year as a free event, Kozelka said. The first fair was actually held on Oct. 17, 1860. Early prize winners included rewards for working oxen, locally made buggies, corn crops and butter churns.
After the 1860 fair, there is no record of any fair until 1871, likely because of the Civil War. The fair moved to its current location in 1918.
The Minnesota State Fair was also held in Owatonna in 1883 and 1884.
And in case you want to know when the 2027 fair will be held, check out the fair’s website. The counter is already online.