Wisconsin
Your guide to the 2024 Central Wisconsin State Fair at the Marshfield Fairgrounds
The Central Wisconsin State Fair returns to the Marshfield Fairgrounds Aug. 20-25 with live music, a demolition derby, bull riding, carnival, classic fair foods and more.
MARSHFIELD − The Central Wisconsin State Fair returns to the Marshfield Fairgrounds, 513 E. 17th St., Aug. 20-25 with fun and activities for all ages.
This year’s activities include live music, a demolition derby, bull riding, animal judging, a carnival, classic fair food favorites, a variety of vendors and much more.
Here’s your 2024 guide to the Wood County fair.
Who is performing at the Central Wisconsin State Fair?
Dylan Scott, Hairball and Daughtry will headline the grandstand at this year’s Central Wisconsin State Fair.
Dylan Scott will perform at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21. Scott is a singer and songwriter with country hits including “Hooked,” “Nobody,” “My Girl” and “New Truck.” He has been nominated as best new country artist at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, earned the 2021 CMT Music Award for breakthrough video of the year, and was a 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards nominee for new male artist of the year.
Hairball will return to the fair at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 22 by popular demand. Hairball is a rock band that plays homage to acts like Van Halen, KISS, Motley Crue, Queen, Journey and Aerosmith.
Daughtry will perform at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 23. Daughtry is a rock band fronted by namesake Chris Daughtry, who finished fourth on Season 5 of “American Idol” in 2006. The band is best known for its hits “What About Now,” “It’s Not Over,” “Home” and “No Surprise.”
What else is happening in the grandstand?
Rice Rodeo Co. will perform “Bulls, Broncs -N- Barrels” at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 24. The show includes bull riding, comedy, special acts and other entertainment.
Obsession with Destruction Demolition Derby will start at 2 p.m. Aug. 25. Drivers will battle to see who can make it to the finals for a chance to win prize money.
How much does grandstand admission cost?
- Dylan Scott: $35 for grandstand seating, $45 for trackside standing and $75 for VIP seating
- Hairball: $25 for grandstand seating, $35 for trackside standing and $45 for VIP seating
- Daughtry: $40 for grandstand seating, $50 for trackside standing and $80 for VIP seating
- Bulls, Broncs -N- Barrels: $25 for those 13 years and older, $15 for youths 5 to 12 and free for children 4 years and younger
- Obsession with Destruction Demolition Derby: $25 for those 13 years and older, $15 for youths 5 to 12 and free for children 4 years and younger
This year, purchasing grandstand tickets includes the cost of gate admission, if purchased before entering the fair. Season tickets do not include grandstand entertainment when tickets for shows are required. Tickets can be purchased online at centralwisconsinstatefair.com/p/tickets or at the fair office.
When will the carnival be open at the fair?
Mr. Ed’s Magical Midways returns to the Central Wisconsin State Fair and will offer a new schedule this year. The carnival will be open starting at 2 p.m. Aug. 21-23 and at noon Aug. 24-25.
Wristbands will be available for $25 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 21-23 and noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 25, for $30 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Aug. 21-23, and for $35 from noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 24. Individual ride tickets also will be available for purchase daily, according to the fair’s website.
Wristbands are not valid on the bumper cars or Gravity Storm bungee jump. Wristbands can be purchased in advance at the Mr. Ed’s website at mredsmidway.com.
Local youths will showcase projects and animals during the fair
Hundreds of Wood County youths will exhibit thousands of projects as part of the Junior Fair. The Junior Fair allows youths to display their projects and get feedback from state-licensed judges.
Junior Fair animal judging takes place daily and includes everything from horses, dairy, beef, rabbits and sheep to cats, llamas, swine, goats and poultry.
Non-animal projects will also be displayed throughout the fair in the Junior Fair Exhibition Building. Projects include everything from woodworking, photography, cultural arts, and food and nutrition to health and citizenship, youth leadership, knitting and crocheting, and mechanical sciences.
There will also be a Dress-A-Cow contest at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Jer Lang Show Palace, and Pleasure Valley Pig & Duck Races multiple times throughout the week. The Central Wisconsin State Fair Horse Pull will start at 6 p.m. Aug. 23, and the Meyer Farms 10 Horse Pyramid Hitch draft horse show at 6 p.m. Aug. 24.
How much is admission for the Central Wisconsin State Fair?
Daily admission to the fair costs $10 for everyone 13 and older, $5 for children 5-12 and free for children 4 and younger. Season gate passes are $30 for adults, $15 for children and free for those 4 and younger. Season passes can be purchased in the fair office or on the website at centralwisconsinstatefair.com. Daily admission passes can be purchased at the gate on the day you arrive.
On Tuesday only, tickets are half price for adults and free for children 12 and younger. Those who enter at Gate D (at the corner of Peach Avenue and 17th Street) between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday are admitted for free.
Senior Citizen Day is Wednesday, and adults ages 62 and older will be admitted to the fair for $5 from open to close with a valid ID. Wednesday is also Veterans Appreciation Day, and all active and retired military personnel and their spouse or significant other will be admitted to the fair from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $5 with a military ID.
Take advantage of the BOGO special from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 24. Buy one adult pass and get the second adult or child pass for free.
How much does it cost to park?
Parking at the Central Wisconsin State Fair is free, and visitors are encouraged to park in the general parking area, which is located by Gate D. It is a grassy area off of Peach Avenue and 17th Street, according to a fair spokesperson.
Where can I find more information about the fair?
For more information, visit centralwisconsinstatefair.com or find Central Wisconsin State Fair on Facebook.
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Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @Jamie_Rokus.
(WLUK) — Applications for Wisconsin’s 2026 elk season open next week.
The DNR says the application period begins Sunday, Mar 1 and will close on Sunday, May 31.
Selected applicants will be notified in early June.
For the third year in a row, there will be increased opportunity to pursue elk within the Central Elk Management Zone (formerly Black River Elk Range), as additional bull elk and antlerless harvest authorizations will be available through the state licensing system. The 2026 elk quota for the Central Elk Management Zone is six bull elk and six antlerless elk, up from a quota of four bull and five antlerless in 2025.
The Northern Elk Management Zone (formerly Clam Lake Elk Range) quota will be eight bull elk, subject to a 50% declaration by Ojibwe tribes.
During the open application period, applicants will have the choice to submit one bull elk license application and/or one antlerless elk license application, separately. Applicants can apply to any unit grouping with an associated quota for that authorization type (bull or antlerless). The order of drawing will be bull licenses first, followed by antlerless licenses. As a reminder, only one resident elk hunting license can be issued or transferred to a person in their lifetime, regardless of authorization type.
In 2026, there will be one continuous hunting season, opening Saturday, Oct. 17, and continuing through Sunday, Dec. 13, eliminating the split-season structure that was in effect from 2018-2025. This offers elk hunters more opportunities and flexibility to pursue elk in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin residents can submit elk license applications online through the Go Wild license portal or in person at a license sales agent. The application fee is $10 for each of the bull elk and antlerless elk drawings and is limited to one application per person, per authorization type. The DNR recommends that all applicants check and update their contact information to ensure contact with successful applicants.
For each application fee, $7 goes directly to elk management, monitoring and research. These funds also enhance elk habitat, which benefits elk and many other wildlife. If selected in the drawing, an elk hunting license costs $49.
Before obtaining an elk hunting license, all selected hunters must participate in a Wisconsin elk hunter education course. The class covers Wisconsin elk history, hunting regulations, biology, behavior and scouting/hunting techniques.
(WLUK) — Snow remains deep across parts of the Northwoods and the Upper Peninsula, even though much of Northeast Wisconsin has seen notable snow-melting heading toward spring.
It’s connected to a shift in Pacific climate patterns.
As of Thursday, 75.1% of the Northern Great Lakes area was covered by snow. Snow depth across the Northwoods and the U.P. ranges from 20 to 30 inches, with areas along and north of Highway 8 in Wisconsin at about 20 inches.
But farther south, significant snowmelt has occurred over the last few weeks across Northeast Wisconsin and the southern half of the state.
Looking ahead, an ENSO-neutral spring is looking likely, meaning Pacific Ocean temperatures are not notably above or below average. Conditions tend to be more normal and seasonal, though that does not guarantee typical weather.
La Niña occurs when the Pacific Ocean has below-average temperatures across the central and east-central portions of the equatorial region. El Niño is the opposite, with warmer ocean temperatures in those regions. Those shifts influence weather across the United States and globally.
In Wisconsin, a La Niña spring is usually colder and wetter, while an El Niño spring brings warmer and drier conditions. During a neutral period, neither El Niño nor La Niña is in control and weather can swing either direction.
Despite the snowpack up north, the 2026 spring outlook from Green Bay’s National Weather Service leans toward a low flood risk, because ongoing drought in parts of the state is helping to absorb snowmelt.
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Dry conditions are also raising fire concerns in several parts of the country. Low snowfall in states out west is increasing wildfire concerns, and those areas are already experiencing drought. Wildfire activity can increase quickly if above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation continue into spring. About half of the lower 48 states are in drought this week — an increase of 16% since January.
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