Between the midway and the livestock barns, another stage rarely goes quiet.
The Curtis Lumber Entertainment Tent will offer free programming throughout fair week, with live bands, music bingo, karaoke competitions and family entertainment filling the schedule from day into evening.
On Saturday, Aug. 22, the entertainment takes a less serious turn.
At 4:30 p.m., people will compete in the Smelly Shoe Contest, the brainchild of Fair Board Director Norm Kilpatrick. Contestants are invited to bring their most odoriferous footwear, while judges face the task of deciding which pair is the worst.
“The hardest part of that contest is getting judges,” Fair Board President Jason Craig joked.
Immediately afterward, the fair will debut another competition: a Mullet Contest.
“If you’ve got a mullet and you’re proud of it,” Craig said, “bring it right to the Delaware County Fair.”
The haircut may seem like a distinctly modern expression of rebellion, but versions of the mullet have been around for centuries.
Ancient Greek, Assyrian and Roman artwork and writing depict hairstyles that resemble the familiar combination of shorter hair in front and longer hair in back. In Homer’s Iliad, Greek warriors are described with cropped hair in front and longer hair behind - a style that may have had a practical purpose, keeping hair away from the face while providing some protection around the neck.
The modern mullet emerged much later, becoming a recognizable counterculture style during the 1970s. David Bowie helped propel it into glam rock through his Ziggy Stardust persona, while musicians in punk and rock scenes adopted their own variations.
By the 1980s, the hairstyle had moved well beyond the music world. Rock and country musicians, athletes and especially hockey players embraced the look. In the United States, it became associated with a particular mix of irreverence, individuality and informality.
The haircut acquired its now-famous name in 1994, when the Beastie Boys used “mullet head” in their song of the same name. Before that, the style had accumulated more colorful descriptions, including “Kentucky waterfall” and “Missouri compromise.”
Then the mullet became a punchline.
By the 1990s and early 2000s, it was widely regarded as a relic of another era. But like many cultural fashions that seem permanently retired, the mullet eventually returned.
Its revival gathered momentum during the 2010s and accelerated during the pandemic, as younger people embraced unconventional cuts and revisited styles from the 1980s and ’90s. The modern version has found an audience among Gen Z, athletes and others drawn to a hairstyle that stands out precisely because it refuses to look conventional.
Variations such as the wolf cut and mini-mullet have given the style a more contemporary edge.
Now, at the Delaware County Fair, the hairstyle gets its own competition.
So grow it long, comb it back and bring your best business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back look to the entertainment tent.
The contests begin at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22.
