BEATRICE, Neb. - The theme for the 2025 Gage County Fair is “You Gotta Love the Gage County Fair”, but after rain impacted day one setup, and the weather forecast calls for heat and potential storms this week, Board Chairman Don Esau says the theme also reflects teamwork and perseverance.

“Well everything’s coming along good, we got a board of 15, everybody pitches in,” Esau said. “Yes, the rain threw a few curves at us, but now we have sunshine and we’re trying to figure out what to do for the rest of the week.”

On Monday, areas of Beatrice recorded multiple inches of rain in the late morning and early afternoon, but Esau says things mostly went along as planned. On Tuesday, the pride of Texas shows began unloading for the carnival and construction was underway for beer garden tent.

The forecast for the rest of the week calls for temperatures in the 90’s with a chance of storms each day, but Esau says, the fair’s been through this before.

“The show goes on if it can,” Esau said. “We do have alternate places to hold things if we need to move, but that takes extra work too… From a farming community around the 20th of July, not too many people are going to complain about some rain, but it does make a muddy mess at the fair.”

While Esau encourages people to attend despite the weather, he says to be cautious, and keep cool during the heat.

“We have the 4-H building, drink plenty of fluids, and the people that have campers can stay cool.”

Fair festivities begin Tuesday night with a car show and an Ag appreciation barbecue.