Dane County Fair

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Focal Flame Photography

The scene at a past Dane County Fair.

Dane County Fair

media release: The Dane County Fair is an annual, family-friendly event held in Wisconsin’s capital city every July. Friends from near and far venture to the Alliant Energy Center in Madison for free concerts, entertainment, great food, animals, and adventure. The Fair has a rich history dating back to 1851 when the first Dane County Fair was held in Madison. This history guides us as we strive to honor the past, while continuing a tradition and looking to the future.

2026 hours:

Gates: 8AM - 8PM (No Entry after 8PM, events until 11PM)

Outdoor - Entertainment, Animals & Vendors: 11AM - 11PM (animals end at 5:30 pm on Sunday)

Exhibition Hall - Vendors, Youth Projects & Activities: 8AM - 8PM (ends at 4 pm on Sunday).

Carnival: TBD

Erin Ranum, the daughter of Steve and Kristin Ranum of Waunakee, was recently selected Dane County Fairest of the Fair. She will preside over the 2026 Dane County Fair, July 16-19 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. As the Dane County Fairest of the Fair, she will be promoting the event during the upcoming months and will represent Dane County in the State Fairest of the Fairs competition in January 2027.

Ranum is currently working as a dance instructor at a studio in Waunakee. She is a graduate of UW-Madison and was a singer/dancer for three years with the Wisconsin Singers. She has also choregraphed the Waunakee Middle School Musical for the past couple of years. “I feel so lucky to have found work that I am so passionate about while also helping to shape the next generation,“ says Ranum.

Ranum also currently serves as the chairperson of the Dane County 4-H Camp committee. She works along with 20 other adult volunteers, and the 4-H program coordinator to plan a weeklong camp for about 150 4-H youths. She attended the 4-H camp as a camper for two years and a camp counselor for three years. She is a past member of the Waunakee Whirlwinds 4-H Club, an exhibitor at the Dane County Fair for nine years and was also the vice president of public relations for her local FFA club.

She will be officially crowned Dane County Fairest of the Fair on Saturday, June 13 at the Dane County Dairy Breakfast to be held at Swaindale Genetics dairy farm in Deerfield. Erin will serve as the ambassador for the Dane County Fair and the hundreds of youth exhibitors who participate in that event each year.