The Gregg County Fair kicks off Sept. 8 and offers plenty of rides, food and other entertainment.

The Gregg County Fair kicks off Sept. 8 and continues through Sept. 16 at the Longview Fairgrounds.

Sponsored by the Longview Jaycees, the annual event will include rides, exhibits, food, contests, petting zoo, pig races, musical entertainment and the Miss Gregg County Pageant.

Amusement Midway Providers (AMP) is bringing more than 20 different rides to the fair, including thrill rides, family rides and kiddie rides.

Billy Clay, Gregg County Fair general manager, said three different companies came together to form AMP.

“I’ve dealt with two of them over 20 years. They got together and formed one unit, where they can bring in more rides — bigger rides — than before,” he said. “We had good rides but this is going to be bigger and better with all that coming in. We’ll have a better avenue to have a better choice of rides.”

Clay said the fair has something for everybody.

“We’ve got several new rides coming in, including Drop Zone, which is a tremendous ride, and Ring of Fire,” he said. “Those are two of the biggest ones out there.”

And don’t forget the fair food.

Just to name a few, there will be turkey legs, ribbon fries, funnel cakes, corn dogs, lemonade, popcorn, cotton candy, fried Oreos and fried Twinkies.

“We’ve got three big new concessions coming in that will have just about any type of food you want,” Clay said. “So, we’ve got more concessions and a better selection of food for everybody.”

A variety of entertainment will take place each day of the fair.

Musical performances include the Kim Donnette Band, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8; Darby Warren Band, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9; Anthony Bonnette and Lone Star Steel, 7 p.m. Sept. 11; Tanner Welborn Band, 7 p.m. Sept. 12; The Heavy Letdowns, 7 p.m. Sept. 13; Josh Davis — Elvis tribute, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15; and Del Rio Band, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16.

“And we have the big Hispanic bands coming in Sunday,” Clay said.

Those performances begin at 4 p.m. and include Danza Folklorico Ketzaly, DJ Torito Mix, Ballet Folklorico “Raises” De Sonia Trevizo, El Nuevo Cartel, Impacto Show Dedurango and Conjunto Ontono.

The Miss Gregg County Pageant is set for 9 p.m. Sept. 14.

Although the weekend draws larger crowds to the fair, Clay said weekdays aren’t bad either.

“They have kind of rocketed. If you’re a family with small kids and don’t want to tackle Friday or Saturday night, we open at 4 o’clock on Saturday,” he said. “But any night during the week would be a good time for a family with small kids to come out and enjoy themselves.”

What: Gregg County Fair

When: 6 p.m. to midnight Sept. 8 and 15, 4 p.m. to midnight Sept. 9 and 16, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 10, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 11-13, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sept. 14

Where: Longview Fairgrounds and Exhibit Building, 1123 Jaycee Drive, Longview

Tickets: General admission $6; free for children 3 and younger, senior citizens ages 60 and older and military members and family. Armbands and ride coupons available each day

Schedule and information: www.greggcountyfair.com