Robert Briggs stood watch Monday over the creation of the thrills and chills that will fill the midway of the Pike County Fairgrounds this week.

The Pike County Fair opens at 6 p.m. tonight with Brigg’s Modern Midway as the new promoter of the fun and excitement of a county fair.

Homer Homann, president of the sponsoring Troy Shrine Club, said Modern Midway is a “class act” with one ride that carries a price tag of a million dollars and more.

“Probably our most exciting ride is the Fireball,” Briggs said. “It’s a ride that we got from Holland and it swings riders 85 feet in the air. It’s a million dollar ride. It was worth that to us.”
Brigg said the Fireball would bring a million thrills to the brave-hearted, as will other rides for thrill-seekers.

“We have a lot of family rides including the Wacky Worm, a 30-foot roller coaster,” he said. “Kids love the Frog Hopper that takes seven kids up and bounces them all around and the Puppies. Kids get inside the puppies and spin around. The Yo-Yo Swings are fun for kids and we have an antique style Carousel with 30 horses and two chariots.”

The midway will also feature the bumper cars, Tilt-a-Whirl, Scrambler, a Ferris wheel with a small fortune in lights and other fun rides.

Each night at the Pike County Fair there will be a Showtime act on the Midway and entertainment at the Fairgrounds pavilion.

The Ashton Family, a seventh- and eighth-generation performance group from Australia, will perform two times each night with their aerial act, their horse act and their Showtime act.

The featured entertainment tonight will be Broken Strings. The Alcazar Shrine Band and Johnny Barron and Waterfall Children’s Band will perform on Wednesday.

On Thursday, SheBang! Cloggers and the Ryan Alan Project Band will take center stage.

Friday’s lineup will include the Troy School of Dance and Johnny Barron and company.

Perfection and Grace, a big-time band that plays music for all ages, will close out the entertainment schedule with a flair.

The Midway is just part of the entertainment at the county fair. Inside the exhibition hall, arts, crafts, canning, photographs and much more are on display and along with their blue ribbon winning entries. A variety of clubs, organizations and businesses have display booths with information of interest available.

The Shriners concession stand offers a variety of short order items as well as tradition carnival favorites, which are also available on the Midway.

Tickets for the Pike County Fair are $6 for adults, $4 for ages 6 through 11 and children five and under are admitted free. Additional charges apply for Midway rides.