Madison County Fair Rolls Into Huntsville With a Parade and a Week of Rodeo
Late summer in Huntsville means one thing: the Madison County Fair is back, and half the county turns out to be part of it. Businesses, church groups, fire departments and horse riders start staging for the parade, and the fairgrounds settle in for a week of rodeo, livestock shows, carnival rides, agricultural exhibits and fair food, the same lineup that has kept this tradition going for more than a century.
THE DEETS
📅 Saturday, August 29, 2026– Sunday, September 6, 2026
🕑 Line up areas open: 08:30 AM | August 29 Parade starts: 10:00
📍 902 Crossbow Rd, Huntsville, AR 72740
🔗 More info | Sign up to enter the parade lineup | Email [email protected]
Lining Up for the Parade
Your lot depends on what you are bringing. If you are walking with a business, church, club, organization, candidate or a fair queen, head to the Intermediate Parking Lot off Polk Street. Fire departments, show cars, trucks, jeeps and ATVs stage in the Primary Parking Lot off Phillips Avenue, though four wheelers and dirt bikes are not allowed there. Horse trailers, riders and riding clubs gather behind the Intermediate Building, entering from West Main beside the Admin Building.
From Parade to Rodeo
Once the parade wraps, you can head straight to the ATV Rodeo, with gates opening at noon ahead of the 3 p.m. show. Stick around for Kids Night at 5 p.m. and you can make a full day of it without leaving the fairgrounds.
A Week on the Fairgrounds
Come back midweek and you’ll catch the show ring cycling through dairy cattle, dairy goats, market goats, sheep and swine, with poultry and rabbit shows following later on. The carnival opens each evening Wednesday through Saturday, and you can grab fair food between shows. Cowboy Church hosts a gospel singing one night and a buyers dinner ahead of the Jr. Livestock Premium Sale on another, and the week closes out with an awards program and an exhibitor fun night before everyone hauls their animals home.
A Fair Run by Volunteers
You can thank a small volunteer board for it. This is the 103rd year they have pulled the fair together, spending the rest of the year planning, organizing, building and maintaining the grounds for the next one.
