Well worth the wait

CELINA - "I'll definitely be bragging about being the guy opening for Joe Diffie and Neal McCoy," Walker Hayes said to the crowd midway through his set at the Mercer County Fairgrounds.

Later, Hayes brought the crowd to its feet with his hit "You Broke Up With Me," and Diffie and McCoy kept the audience going throughout their entire sets.

Rain and thunder briefly halted the show just after Hayes' performance, but when it resumed the co-headliners proved to be worth the wait for the large crowd that turned out for the opening night concert.

Many concert-goers were sporting Diffie ponchos, other Diffie merchandise and one even wore a blonde mullet, the Grammy-award-winning artist's signature haircut in the 1990s.

Diffie's set included all of his classics from the '90s, including "John Deere Greene," "Pickup Man," "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)," "Ships That Don't Come In" and "Third Rock From The Sun."

"Joe Diffie was amazing," said Celina resident Lisa Loughridge after she had just purchased some Diffie merchandise. "It was great to hear all of his good songs from back in the day. I thought Neal McCoy was awesome. I did not expect him to do some of the songs he did. He was a great entertainer."

McCoy had a little bit of everything in his set - from Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk" to Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" to The Beatles "Come Together." Of course, he played his hits, including "The Shake." He substituted the word "Celina" for North Dakota during the chorus of the song and had the crowd sing along. McCoy also played his recent hit "Take a Knee My (Butt)," a response to the NFL national anthem protests.

Hayes, an up-and-coming artist on the country charts, warmed up the crowd with songs from his debut album "Boom," ending his set with "You Broke Up With Me," which climbed into the top 10 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

"Despite the rain and thunder, Joe Diffie, Neal McCoy and Walker Hayes put on an on-fire performance," said Celina resident Daniel Hehmeyer, a regular concert attendee at the fair. "This was one of the better fair concerts I have attended."

Fair schedule:
Today

• noon - registration deadline for Little Miss/Mr. Contest

• 1 p.m. - rides and games start; Country Horseshoe Tournament Class A and B; baby contest, 4-8 months

• 2 p.m. - 20th annual pie contest-auction at 4 p.m.; baby contest, 0-3 months; Wolves of the World show

• 4 p.m - princess contest, ages 19 months-2 years; wee miss contest, ages 3-7; prince contest, ages 19 months-2 years; Wee Mr. Mercer County Fair contest, ages 3-7

• 5 p.m. - market lamb and sheep breeding show

• 6 p.m. - special needs show

• 6:30 p.m. - peewee dairy showmanship

• 7 p.m. - banjo entertainment by Glen Parks; Newsboys with special guest Adam Agee; dairy showmanship

• 8 p.m. - Cherry Blonde; Wolves of the World show

Sunday

• 9 a.m. - Invitational Horseshoe Pitch Round Robin Tournament Class B & C

• 9:30 a.m. - patriotic rosary

• 10 a.m. - open horse contesting show

• 10:30 a.m. - nondenominational church service

• noon - Immaculate Conception Praise Group; sheep showmanship

• 12:30 p.m. - harness racing; rabbit market pens and showmanship

• 1 p.m. - rides and games start; Grand Lake Bell Choir

• 1:30 p.m. - Invitational Horseshoe Pitch Round Robin Tournament Class A; sheep peewee showmanship

• about 1:30 p.m. - open market lamb

• 2 p.m. - Wolves of the World show; Grand Lake United Methodist Church praise band; create your own floral design

• about 2:30 p.m. - open breeding sheep show

• 3 p.m. - Fusion

• 4 p.m. - Jane Stachler religious experience
• 5 p.m. - Bethany Church Bell Choir; Boer breeding, market goat and showmanship

• 6:30 p.m. - Cloverbud, food and special-interest modeling revue

• 7 p.m. - livestock scramble

• 7:30 p.m. - open dairy; Celina High School Dance And Cheer performance; clothing modeling revue

• 8 p.m. - Anthems and Alibis
Monday

• 9 a.m. - horse contesting show

• 10:30 a.m. - nursing home lunch/activities

• 1 p.m. - minute to win it games sponsored by Coldwater Explorers 4-H Club

• 2 p.m. - floral judging; New Outlook

• 3 p.m. - K-9 demo

• 4 p.m. - rides & games start; New Outlook

• 4:30 p.m. - dairy goat and other non-market breeds show and showmanship competition

• 5:30 p.m. - New Outlook