It’s almost here.
The 2026 Berrien County Youth Fair starts on Monday at the fairgrounds in Berrien Springs. Fair Manager Karen Klug tells us they’ve got a full schedule for the week with rides, games, food, music, crafts, and animal exhibits.
Things get off to a start with animal displays, a tractor pull, antique tractors, and a farm market on Monday. The rides will start on Tuesday, which is Kids Day.
“All children to high school age get in the gate free, and in the grandstand on Tuesday, at 1, 4, and 7 we have Circus Continental, and that’s a free event,” Klug said.
The big grandstand show this year will be on Wednesday with country singer Cooper Allen. Klug says the Berrien County Youth Fair over the years has welcomed many performers who went on to be huge, including Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, and Charlie Daniels. So, Thursday’s grandstand show will be a sort of tribute to all that entertainment.
“The fair has been around for 80 years and we’ve had some really, really excellent entertainers through those years. We usually had them when they were up and coming, and so the Riflemen is a group that came and opened for Lee Greenwood a couple years ago. They’ve taken the list of our entertainers [from over the years] and they’re going to do songs from those entertainers.”
Friday will feature a demolition derby, and things will wrap up on Saturday will Bullmania.
Klug reminds everyone to only get grandstand tickets from the fair’s official website, BCYF.org, because scammers have been selling fake tickets through other means. She also notes you can get wristbands for the kids to go on as many rides as they like.
All of the above is not to mention all the fair food that will be available, including some from new vendors this year. Klug says among them are vendors that sell rice and noodle bowls, wood-fired pizza, and churros.
Klug says last year’s fair attracted just under 100,000 people, slightly down from the previous year because of rain that week.
