Oxford Couple Associates Neshoba County Fair With Wedding Bells

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com.

Going to the Neshoba County Fair is a longstanding tradition in the LOU community. As an event where family and friends gather for a weeklong celebration at the end of July, the fair is known as “Mississippi’s Giant Houseparty.” This year’s fair kicks off Friday, July 27.

Oxford resident Hannah Mayo has a special connection with the Neshoba County Fair. It’s the place where she met her husband-to-be, Rush.
“Our families have been friends for years and our cabins are only five down from one another,” Mayo said. “One night we ended up on my front porch talking and became fast friends. We were friends for years. He asked me out a couple of times, but I was won over by a pair of Snoop Dogg tickets when he came to The Lyric in Oxford. The rest is history.” 

Mayo has attended the fair every year since she was born, she said.
“As a kid, the fair is about a place that you can play with your cousins and being with family that you only see a few times a year,” she said. “When you get older it’s about family and friends that are like family. Once a year you go and have a great time making memories that last a lifetime.”
The Fair began in 1889 and two years later was renamed the Neshoba County Stock and Agricultural Fair Association. The Fair came to a standstill during World War II, but eventually reopened in 1946.
Nowadays the Fair has grown from a two-day meeting of local farmers and their families to an eight-day “houseparty” with more than 600 cabins and 200 campers. Families can still be found gathering for reunions with old and new friends every summer.
The fair offers many activities like art exhibits, vegetable growing contests, and rides for children. The rodeo comes to town on Friday night, and the 100-plus vendor flea market opens Saturday.
Mayo said on Sunday families are usually recovering and “taking it easy” because of the heat, which is forecasted to be in the low 80s through the weekend. Families take that time to cook and visit before they have to go back to work on Monday, she said.

Horse races begin on Sunday and run throughout the week in the afternoons at the Fair’s racetrack.
The Fair has historically been a political forum for local, state and national politicians like Ronald Regan, Jack Kemp and John Glenn who visited during their campaigns, according to the Neshoba County Fair’s website.
Tuesday begins the political speeches at Founders Square in the mornings, which run until Thursday.
This year the fair is hosting Sister Hazel, Corey Smith, Chris Lane and Granger Smith as entertainment. To see a full schedule list of this year’s fair click here.

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