The 138th edition of Nebraska’s longest running county fair kicks off Thursday on the Hamilton County Fairgrounds in Aurora. The theme this year is "2010: Do You Remember When?"

The fair will begin its celebration with opening ceremonies at 6:30.

Boy Scout Troop 28 will lead the flag ceremony, followed by the presentation of The Good Neighbor Award and 4-H Awards.

This year’s Good Neighbor Award is being presented to long-time Hampton residents Ervin and Diana Schulze. 4-H awards to be presented include outstanding exhibit awards in the areas of clothing construction, foods, ag engineering, agronomy, miscellaneous and cake decorating.

As an added twist to this year’s opening night, and as a nod to Sunday’s Nebraska Auctioneers’ Bid Calling Contest, the 4-H decorated cakes will be auctioned off to the highest bidder immediately following the awards ceremony. Kelly Kliewer will conduct the auction and proceeds from the sale will be split between the 4-H member and the 4-H Council. Photos of the cakes with their decorator will be taken prior to judging, and cakes will be brought to the Farr Building for the auction after the judging has concluded.

Other 4-H food items will be available for purchase in the 4-H Café after judging concludes on Thursday as well.

This year’s grandstand shows include go cart races, lawn mower races, motocross races, concert featuring No Better Cause and the NAPA Figure 8 Race.

Other featured entertainment will include mechanical bull riding, featuring the longest ride contest, an antique tractor display, Papa Bear chainsaw artist, kids pedal tractor pull, the Nebraska Auctioneers Bid Calling Contest Sunday afternoon and the return of the DC Lynch Carnival on the midway.

Hamilton County Ag Society president Keith Wasem said apparently the word is getting out about the motocross and go cart races because he and fellow board members are fielding a lot of calls.

"The excitement seems to be building and it looks like we’ll have a good number of entries," he said.

Interest also is building in the mechanical bull rides, another new element added to the fair this year.

"The longest ride contest will be a timed event with judges there to time it and certify if a person touches the bull with a free hand or gets bucked off," Wasem explained.

The contest will be held on the south side of the Farr Building. In the event of rain, the event will be moved into the commercial building.

Another new feature will be the state-sanctioned auctioneers bid calling contest which will be held in Hamilton Telecommunications Hall.

"That did create some juggling around with commercial exhibits, but we tweaked it and made room along with about 50 commercial exhibits," Wasem said.

The fair board also made it easier for fairgoers to attend more events without breaking the bank.

"The Ham Pass will add value to the entertainment dollars spent," Wasem said. "That’s a $35 value being sold for $15 and is good for all grandstand shows and one ride on the mechanical bull. "People can go to more events at the fair for fewer dollars spent."

Daily events

All 4-H, FFA and open class entries are due Wednesday between 4 and 9 p.m. An exhibitors’ barbecue will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Farr Building.

Pre-entries for all 4-H categories, except livestock, indicate numbers will be up for this year’s fair. Pre-entries for 2010 number 620, while there were 537 in 2009.

Thursday events include the sheep show at 8 a.m., meat goat show at 1 p.m., rabbit show at 2 p.m., dairy cattle show at 3 p.m. and poultry show at 4 p.m.

Hamilton Telecommunications Hall opens at 4:30 p.m. and closes at 10 p.m. Bingo begins at 5:30 p.m. and the carnival opens at 6 p.m.

Friday schedule

Friday events begin at 8 a.m. with the swine show, followed by 4-H dog obedience and showmanship contest at 9 a.m. The 4-H dog agility show begins at 11 a.m.

The pocket pets show will begin at 3:30 p.m., along with the 4-H dog show and dog agility. The 4-H cat show will begin at 4:30 p.m.

Mechanical bull riding will be held from 5 p.m. to midnight and Grone’s Lawnmower Races begin at 7 p.m. Admission is a donation to the Hamilton County Food Pantry.

Saturday activities

On Saturday, events kick off with the 4-H and FFA beef show and 4-H and open class horse show at 8 a.m.

An antique tractor plow day will be held just south of the fairgrounds, also beginning at 8 a.m.

Motocross racing begins at 1 p.m. at the fairgrounds and the livestock judging contest starts at 2 p.m.

Ag Society vice president Troy McDonald said he’s excited about the motocross race, which is new this year.

They’ve opened up the race to two classes so far -- 80s and below for little kids and 125s. "We’ll have to wait and see if we get any 250s that day," he said.

The Hamilton and York Counties Cattlemen’s Association will serve their beef dinner from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The longest ride mechanical bull contest will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. and the No Better Cause concert begins at 8 p.m.

"We’ve got No Better Cause back again this year and I hope we get a good crowd to support them -- they are a really good group," McDonald said.

Final day

Sunday, the final day of the fair, starts with the exhibitor’s breakfast at 8 a.m.

Team penning begins at 9 a.m. and the Nebraska Auctioneers Bid Calling Contest starts at 1 p.m.

Other Sunday events include the 4-H Fashion Review at 2 p.m., youth livestock sale at 3:30 p.m. and NAPA Figure 8 Race at 7 p.m.