GJCF announces final act of 2025

     The fourth and final Great Jones County Fair entertainment announcement is here…

   The headliner on Thursday, July 17, will be GRAMMY-nominated country music star Sam Hunt! Opening for him will be Dylan Marlowe.

   Tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 24, at 10 a.m. on the fair’s website, www.greatjonescountyfair.com.

   Tickets for this show, which kicks off on the stage at 8 p.m., are $60 for all seating options: track, amphitheater, and hillside bleachers.

   “This opportunity is 100 percent routing,” Fair Manager Lucas Gobeli offered. “We were searching for someone for Thursday and they approached us because it fit in the route they had.”

   Having announced all four nights of GJCF concerts is a good feeling, Gobeli said.

   “Those big pieces have come together,” he said.

   Last year, Gobeli shared with the Jones County Board of Supervisors and with the City of Monticello plans to build a new fair entrance facility at the corner of Maple Street and Seventh Street, replacing the older fair building that sits at that gate.

   Gobeli noted they are currently in the design phase of that project and putting together a final budget of where the project needs to be.

   He prefaced that the new entrance would not be constructed before the 2025 fair, hopefully prior to the 2026 GJCF.

   Earlier this month, the GJCF announced hip hop artist Nelly would be performing on Friday, July 18. Tickets went on sale on Jan. 10.

   Gobeli said the response to that announcement has been favorable and ticket sales already have been quite good.

   “We are very happy with where we’re at,” he said.

   The fair has also organized an event with 2024 GJCF Queen and Princess Addison Appelhans and Kendall Siebels. The “Queen’s Ball” will be held on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Youth Development Center.

   “This is an opportunity for our fair royalty to interact with the general population of Jones County and the youth in our community,” explained GJCF Office Manager Abby Jaeger. “The trend these past few years has been for our queens and princesses to get more involved and step out of their comfort zones. This will be a fun night. It’s a good reason to get out of the house.”

   The father-daughter dance will include dinner, drinks, music, dancing, photos, crafts, and shimmering hair tinsel.

   The cost is $35 for each father-daughter duo; $5 for each additional guest.

   Tickets can be purchased through the GJCF website or find the link on the "Queen's Ball" Facebook event page.

   “Ideally, we’d like people to purchase tickets ahead,” offered Jaeger. “Call the fair office with any questions.”

   The proceeds from the Queen’s Ball will go toward the queen’s experience at the county and state fairs.