Hutchinson ? The start of the annual Kansas State Fair is just days away.

Gates open Friday for this year’s 10-day run at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson.

The event typically draws more than 340,000 people from across Kansas and neighboring states.

This year’s fair runs Sept. 11 to Sept. 20.

Among its features are hundreds of commercial exhibits, agricultural and educational displays, carnival rides and its famous butter sculpture. There also are more than 30,000 entries in competitive exhibits ranging from blue-ribbon animals to homemade crafts.