Tonganoxie ? The 78th annual Leavenworth County Fair officially starts today and thousands of people, along with a few hundred animals, are expected to descend on the fairgrounds at the west edge of Tonganoxie.

The traditional events that have made the fair successful through its history will continue with no major changes, fair officials said.

“We’re kind of a bunch that sticks to what works,” said David Todd, president of the fair board of directors.

The fair will bring back at least one event that hasn’t been seen for a while, Todd said. A bull-riding contest is set to begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the grandstand.

Other major attractions will include a 6:30 p.m. Wednesday parade through town. The theme will be “Untamed Frontier — the Journey of Lewis and Clark.”

The two big crowd-pleasers traditionally are the rodeo and demolition derby, Todd said. The rodeo will run two nights, starting at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday. The demolition derby starts at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children age 6 through 12 for both events. Children under 6 get in free.

About 540 4-H members will participate, and nearly all will have more than one animal or exhibit entered for judging, said Leon Stites, Leavenworth County’s agricultural extension agent. Dozens of non-4-H members will be entered in open class contests in livestock or domestic arts such as cooking, canning or needlepoint.

Stites estimates 4-H members will have on display for judging 325 hogs, 150 heads of cattle, 35 goats and 35 sheep.

“There will be a building full of chickens and rabbits,” Stites said.

During last year’s fair, temperatures were about 100 degrees. This year will be different, with temperatures forecast in the 80s.

“If the weather holds as they say, then we could easily see about 20,000 to 25,000 people here,” Todd said.