Photo/Rebecca Morris Colorful dragons guard one of the rides already set up at the Grayson County Fairgrounds Friday morning. More rides are expected to join the midway by Monday, in advance of the fair's Tuesday afternoon kickoff.

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Photo/Rebecca Morris Old favorites such as the Tilt-a-Whirl, swings and a roller coaster are among the rides to be offered at the Grayson County Fair next week.

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A mudsling, revamped schedules for everything from car races to tractor pulls, and expanded midway offerings are just some of the changes those attending the 2012 Grayson County Fair will see.

The fair kicks off Tuesday, Aug. 28, and will run through Sunday night, Sept. 2. It will be capped off by the annual Labor Day parade through Leitchfield on Monday morning, Sept. 3.

Fair Board president Kevin Pharis said an expanded midway — and a carnival that will continue through Sunday night — is one of the biggest changes.

“There’s not been a Sunday carnival for close to 20 years,” Pharis said, explaining the previous amusements company couldn’t work a Sunday stay into its scheduling.

When the fair switched to Paradise Amusements, the company expressed an interest in having a Sunday carnival because its workers would be here anyway. At the same time, the operators of the KTPA sanctioned truck and tractor pull were saying they could use a day beyond their usual Saturday show, since more entries were pushing back their finishing times past midnight.

The truck and tractor pulls will now continue through Sunday evening. Adding classes will allow some vehicles that participate in national-level shows in Louisville to compete in Grayson County, Pharis said.

The mudsling will debut Thursday night, and promises to provide lots of rpm-driven excitement. Drivers will compete to see who can race through a muddy bog the fastest — with fans in the stands virtually guaranteed to get splattered.

Returning this year will be a special kid’s night, sponsored by Future Designs and Southern Kentucky Insulation. The first 1,000 children ages 12 and under will be admitted free. Children must be accompanied by an adult, and each adult can receive free admission for a maximum of two children.

Paradise will be expanding its rides offerings to about 25 to 27, Pharis said. They plan to organize the layout so that rides for younger children are clustered in one area.

Other returning favorites will be the Miss Pre-Teen, Miss Teen, and Miss Grayson County pageants Tuesday night, the babies and young children pageants on Wednesday, and the Mrs. Grayson County pageant on Thursday night.

For a complete list of fair events, admission prices and other information, see the 2012 Grayson County Fair cataloge in today’s News-Gazette.