BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — The Lee County Fair concluded its 77th year of cotton candy, carnival games and competition on Oct. 3.
“The fair started 77 years ago — it’s been in various locations around Opelika, I think three different locations, maybe four,” said Lee County Fair Association President Jim Sadler. “At one time, it was over where Southern Union is now. Then the Fair Association bought the property we own at the present time, back in the late 60s.”
With his long-term involvement with the Opelika Exchange Club, Sadler said he has watched the Lee County Fair receive vital community support for years.
“I joined the Opelika Exchange Club in 1976, and The Exchange Club is the sponsor of Lee County Fair,” he said. “That’s how I got involved, and I started working the fair that year because Lee County Fair Association is a nonprofit entity of the Opelika Exchange Club. I wish we had more participation, but we have to live with what we have. But I think we had a really good fair. We’ve had a good fair for the past several years.”
Sadler said he has been involved with the Lee County Fair for close to 40 years, and his dedication is fueled by a passion for promoting youth involvement.
“It’s all about youth and kids and promoting involvement,” he said. “It’s been amazing. The young people amaze you of what they’re capable of. And we have the beauty pageant segment, we’re a Miss Alabama affiliate and our little fair has produced three Miss Alabamas and one Miss America through the years.
“We have livestock shows,” Sadler said. “We have the lamb show on one night. We have the steer and the heifer show with cattle on another night. Then on another night, we have the milk show, and these are all premium animals. On the last night, Friday night, we had the chicken show, which we added a couple of years ago.”
No fair is complete without food and family fun accompanying the competitions. According to Sadler, the Lee County Fair has it all.
“A lot of community clubs participate, and people compete for ribbons and prize money,” he said. “It’s just something that shows the community what other people do with their time during the year. And we also have community service exhibits out there, and of course, the carnival with fair food and carnival food, and we have the VFW snack bar there that provides food for people on the ground, and it’s just kind of a fun five nights.”
With the growth of Auburn University, Sadler said he has seen an increase in student turnout to the Lee County Fair, and he hopes this support continues.
“In the last few years, Auburn students are participating more,” he said. “They’re coming out and having a good time. We have a pretty good local representation of young people coming out, as well as adults and families, and it just creates something. It only comes around once a year here, and I hope that people look forward to it and want to participate in a bigger way.”
As the 2025 Lee County Fair ended earlier this month, Sadler said he will only have a couple of months between the end of that fair and the beginning of preparation for the 2026 Lee County Fair.
“A lot of planning and a lot of work goes into it,” he said. “We have a lot of volunteers that help us, in addition to our exchange club members. We get the radio stations involved. There’s been a couple of TV stations that were over. We have the girls ranch down one night, we feed them and let them ride all the rides they want to and send them home with cotton candy and a candy apple. It’s just something for those girls that provides some entertainment and an opportunity for them to get their minds off their own problems. I’ll start on the phone sometime, probably in February or March, putting things together. Everything has to be arranged for.”
With the support of the Lee County community helping the Fair return year after year, Sadler said the Fair gives back by supporting local organizations. To stay up-to-date on when the Lee County Fair will return next year, visit the Lee County Fairgrounds on Facebook.
“We put a lot of money back into the community,” he said. “We make donations to various organizations around [town] with some of our prize money. We also do upgrades to the fairgrounds with some of it. I hope that it is an event that people look forward to every year, and in the 77 years we’ve been doing it, it has been a pretty successful event. I think it’s good for the community.”
