The 2023 Johnson County Fair takes place July 30 to Aug. 5, at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, 136 E. Washington St. in Gardner.

The annual fair includes a variety of activities, including food, livestock, exhibits, entertainment and attractions throughout the week.

During the fair, attendees can stop by the Johnson County Government booth, located in the Commercial Building, to win a prize, learn about local government and more. 

At the booth, you can test your trivia skills and answer questions about Johnson County with our Spin-to-Win wheel for candy or prizes.

The booth will be staffed Tuesday, Aug. 1 through Saturday, Aug. 5.

Admission to the fairgrounds is free, as is the nightly entertainment held on the Memorial Stage.

History of county fairs in Johnson County

The first county fair in Kansas, then a territory, took place in 1858 at McCamish, a small community once located near Edgerton. The fair occurred three years after Johnson County was created as one of the first 33 counties in the Kansas Territory.

Although Lawrence’s Herald of Freedom described the event as the Johnson County Agricultural Fair, the McCamish event was probably a privately sponsored fair supported by town boosters to encourage new settlement.

It wasn’t until the Civil War ended that a fair would return to Johnson County when Gardner had a fair with “agriculture, industrial and domestic exhibits” in 1865.

Over the next decades, county fairs also occurred in several communities, including Olathe, Spring Hill, Edgerton, Merriam and Overland Park.

The annual county fair has occurred in Gardner for 83 years. View photos throughout the fair's history below.