Cow pie bingo, fireworks, country music come to Blue Hill Fair

Plus, learn how to milk a cow with an artificial bovine

Erik Fitch, general manager of the Blue Hill Fair, says attendees can learn how to milk a cow thanks to this artificial bovine. Photo by John Epstein.

Aug. 25, 2026

By John Epstein

A downeast tradition since 1891, the Blue Hill Fair, which opens on Sept. 3, will present some new additions alongside the usual favorites: sheep dog trials, horse pulling, oxen scooting, carnival rides and games, skillet tossing, and blueberry pie-eating contests.  

“But there’s always something new,” said Erik Fitch, the fair’s general manager. Fitch has been managing the fair’s logistics for the last seven years. And right now, it’s crunch time.

Fitch estimates about 40,000 people attend the fair each year, with some planning their family vacations around the major event. As electricians and other contractors ended a busy day preparing the fairgrounds for the action and crowds to come, Fitch took a breather to chat with The Rising Tide about some of the new events and a fair that will be in its 135th year.

“We’ve got the Ready Go Dog Show this year,” he said. “A guy and gal have 20 rescue dogs doing tricks, jumps and stunts,” he said. Fitch said the act, which originated in Missouri, includes all breeds and sizes of dogs, “from cattle dogs to a Chihuahua.”

Then there’s the gravity and death-defying Wheels ‘N’ Steel Show, Fitch said, which features a woman and man performing high-speed motorcycle and roller-skating stunts, while spinning around inside a large, round steel cage.

On Saturday night, Sept. 5, 90’s country music star Darryl Worley will be at the fair to perform some of his greatest hits, including, “I Miss My Friend,” “Awful Beautiful Day,” and the 9/11 tribute song, “Have You Forgotten.”

“Following that concert, we’ll be having fireworks at the fair for the first time in six years,” Fitch said. The event celebrates America’s 250th birthday. 

Organizers are always trying to come up with new ideas for the fair, while continuing traditional ones. For instance, the Charlotte’s Web barn exhibit, which for several years featured animals that appeared in the E.B. White children’s classic, will once again be augmented by a popular live play based on the story to be performed three times a day.

Fitch is especially excited about a couple of fun events that should add some humor to the agricultural side of the fair experience. 

“For the first time, we’re introducing Cow Pie Bingo,” he said. “We will be marking out 100 numbered squares in the ring where cows are exhibited and people can pick a number, and if a cow poops on your square, you win.”

And then there’s the fake cow that kids can milk by hand. Fitch pointed out that while there are now no registered dairy farms in Hancock or Washington County, a key aspect of the fair is encouraging agricultural science. The Blue Hill Fair is a nonprofit organization with a board directors from the Hancock County Agricultural Society.

Accordingly, “we bought a life size cow from Texas that kids can practice on, but we haven’t named her yet,” Fitch said.

The quiet grounds of the Blue Hill Fair are about to come alive next week when 40,000 people visit the quintessential country fair. Photo by John Epstein.

He demonstrated how the fake cow worked by loading a large bottle holding a milky colored liquid through a trap door down into the plastic bovine nether region where it emerged below decks as a reasonable facsimile of an udder. Fitch then showed off some squirting techniques.

There will also be a special tent set up to teach new trends in agricultural and animal husbandry.  

“They'll discuss some new breeds of farm animals,” said Fitch, including Kunekune pigs, fat and round porkers that hail from New Zealand.

While he is confident that the new events at the fair will be a hit, Fitch lauds the old standbys.  

“This is the 70th year of the sheepdog competition, the oldest one in the United States.” he said proudly.

He’s also amazed at the ever-growing popularity of the skillet tossing competition, a women-only event.

“This will be its 20th year,” Fitch said.  “Last year we had a hundred women compete, from three different nations.” 

Fitch, who also coordinates 911 emergency dispatching in Ellsworth, explained that managing the Blue Hill Fair is a year-round task.

“We’re already planning for the 2027 fair because some of the events and performers need to be booked a year in advance,” he said.

Integral to fair operations are the group of workers who travel from show to show. Fitch said that virtually all of the traveling entertainment shows work their way across the country, starting in the Midwest and the Northeast before coming to the Blue Hill Fair.

“We’re their last stop in Maine,” he said. “They don’t go up to Nova Scotia after us; they turn around and head back south.” 

The Blue Hill Fair opens on Sept. 3 at  4 p.m. for the extremely popular “Dollar Day” when entry is just $1. Tickets for senior citizens are $5 on Friday, Sept. 4. General admission for adults is $10 per person on all days Sept. 4-7. Children under 11 are admitted free on all days.

The full event schedule is posted on the fair’s website.