History of the Bluegrass Fair

Did you know The Bluegrass Fair is a fundraising event? It’s true! Your $8 paid general admission goes back into the community. Thank you for supporting the Lexington Lions Club and our charitable efforts to aid those in the community who need vision and hearing assistance. Over the past decade, your support of the Bluegrass Fair has enabled to Lexington Lions Club to donate more than $4 million dollars back to the community! Every Lions Club member you see at the Fair is a volunteer.

For more than 63 years the Lexington Lions Club has presented the Bluegrass Fair that raises funds for community organizations to provide vision and hearing services to people who can not afford them.  Even though the Fair has changed since its inception, the purpose of the Bluegrass Fair has not.

From the first years located at “The Red Mile” to its current home in Masterson Station Park, the Bluegrass Fair continues to provide a family-friendly entertainment and a showcase for Agriculture to the people from Central Kentucky.

From its beginnings, the funds derived from the Lexington Lions Club Bluegrass Fair have gone to support eye health, hearing and diabetes programs in Lexington. Additional funds are contributed to Lions activities throughout Kentucky and through Lions Clubs International.

During the first five years of the fair, the club was able to contribute approximately $45,000 dollars for eyeglasses, offer support for eye surgeries in Fayette County and help with the construction of the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation building in Louisville.

Over the last decade, the club has contributed more than $2 million dollars for the purchase of eyeglasses and provided the funds for eye related surgeries in Lexington. They have also offered financial assistance to a variety of local agencies that have programs related to vision or hearing problems. This also includes the establishment of a hearing aid bank, a retreat for adults and children with hearing or vision disabilities, and the support of state and international projects in these areas.