Champlain Valley Fair announces Grandstand entertainment!
07/07/2026 01:51PM ● By Brewview VT
Essex Junction, VT — On Tuesday, September 1st, 2026, the Champlain Valley Fair presents: “Honky Tonk Hoedown” with Bob Wagner & Friends.
A Benefit for NOFA-VT (Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont)
Free show with paid fair admission, Doors, 6:00pm, Show, 7:00pm
THE WORLD’S LARGEST SQUARE DANCE
LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN!!! After last year’s attempt in the rain, now WE KNOW Vermont can beat the record!!! Did you know the Guinness Book’s record for the world’s largest square dance is just over 1,600 people? Well, the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds dance floor can hold twice that or more and we intend to fill it!! Renowned VT square dance caller Mary Wesley (VT FolkLife) will call the dance and lead the crowd, accompanied by the string band stylings of The Faux Paws.
COME ONE, COME ALL! NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! NO PARTNER NEEDED!
A traditional square dance consists of 4 couplets, or 8 people total. All are welcome! Attend with a friend, a group, or on your own. Everyone can take part in this historic dance!
A traditional square dance consists of 4 couplets, or 8 people total. All are welcome! Attend with a friend, a group, or on your own. Everyone can take part in this historic dance!
THE MUSIC
Leading up to the Square Dance portion, enjoy an opening set from one of Nashville’s most celebrated singers, Timbo & Lonesome Country. Followed by a spirited set of Honky Tonk classics from Bob Wagner & Friends, featuring special guests: Mike & Tessa Gordon, Timbo, Kat Wright, Brett Hughes, Josh Panda, Lowell Thompson, The Faux Paws and more. Plus a Honky Tonk super jam following the World’s Largest Square Dance!
Bob Wagner & Friends is:
Bob Wagner, guitar (Mike Gordon, Kat Wright)
Josh Weinstein, bass (Kat Wright)
Leon Campos, keyboards
Pat Melvin, bass
Brett Hughes, guitar (The Honky Tonk Crowd)
Brett Lanier, pedal steel (Billy Currington, The Barr Brothers)
Steve Hadeka, drums (Seth Yacovone Band, Madaila)
Caleb Elder, fiddle (Honky Tonk Crowd)
NOFA-VT FUNDRAISER
Vermonters have a long tradition of showing up for one another in hard times, especially when it comes to keeping our community fed. NOFA-VT plays a huge part in supporting Vermont’s food system, and now, they need our support. Federal funding cuts, canceled contracts, staffing losses, and broader instability have created significant challenges for the farmers who feed us all, and a strong community response is essential to keep this vital work going. "We are so delighted by and grateful for the musicians using their art and voice to sing for our shared mission: a thriving, just, verdant future, where all may be fed! And thank you to the generous concertgoers whose support helps bring that future closer." - Grace Oedel, NOFA-VT Executive Director.
Phish’s WaterWheel Foundation will be on site again this year, collecting donations and hosting a raffle featuring prizes generously donated by dozens of local businesses. They'll also have special commemorative Ben & Jerry’s bandanas available for a donation of any amount. All donations and raffle proceeds will go to NOFA-VT.
Brad Hunt, Marketing Director for the Champlain Valley Exposition - "We're excited to welcome this free grandstand entertainment back to the Fair this year. One of the things that makes the Champlain Valley Fair so special is the opportunity to partner with outstanding local organizations that enrich our community. Our partnership with Bob Wagner and Friends not only provides a fun, family-friendly experience for fairgoers, but also helps support the important work of NOFA."
The show is free with paid admission to the fair.
ABOUT THE WATERWHEEL FOUNDATION:
In 1997, the rock band Phish founded The WaterWheel Foundation to oversee the band’s various charitable activities, harnessing the kindness and generosity of the Phish fan community to create positive change. WaterWheel fulfills this mission by collecting donations for local nonprofit organizations during each Phish tour stop via WaterWheel’s Touring Division. WaterWheel also supports a wide range of non-profits based in Phish’s home state of Vermont, including those focused on the Lake Champlain watershed, the Arts and those supporting food and housing insecurities, women and children and those in need. Addressing flood recovery efforts in Vermont and Upstate New York, in 2011, Phish performed a benefit concert at the Champlain Valley
Exposition's Grandstand raising over $1.4M. And in 2023, Phish performed two benefit concerts at Saratoga Springs, NY’s Broadview Stage at SPAC, raising over $3.5M. For more information or to donate, please see www.waterwheelfoundation.org
