The Pike County Fair will kickoff with a bang, literally, on Tuesday at 7 p.m. with its first ever Demolition Derby.

Homer Homann, president of the sponsoring Troy Shrine Club, said a Demolition Derby is the big, bad brother of bumper cars and will bring a new type of excitement to the 2015 Pike County Fair at the Pike County Fairgrounds on U.S. Highway 231 south of Troy.

“The Demolition Derby is a one time fair event and will open the Pike County Fair in a unique and exciting way,” Homann said.

Admission to the Demolition Derby is $6 and will include admission to opening night at the Pike County Fair.

“The gates open at 6 p.m. and the derby will start right at 7 o’clock,” Homann said. “After the derby, everyone is encouraged to stay and experience the fun and thrills on the midway of the Pike County Fair and enjoy the displays and exhibits inside and at the animal barn.

Homann said Demolition Derbies are popular all around the country because people enjoy the excitement of cars crashing into each other in a safe and regulated fashion.

“We started thinking about opening the Pike County Fair with a Demolition Derby but quickly realized that it might be out of our budget,” Homann said. “But, through the generosity of different people who know of all of the good that comes from the 22 Shriners’ Hospital across the country, we are able to bring the Demolition Derby to the Pike County Fair.

“And, another good thing is that the arena is permanent so we’ll have other opportunities to host Demolition Derbies and the Troy Shriners are excited about that possibility.”

Homann said strict rules and regulations govern Demolition Derbies and they must be followed to the letter to provide safety for the drivers.

The rules and regulations require that all glass be removed from the cars and that the gas tanks be moved to the backseat along with the radiator.

The stock provider will make sure that all of the cars in the derby are within the rules and can promise a jam bang-up derby.

Homann said what is unique about the Troy Shrine Club’s derby arena is that the spectators will actually look down into the arena, giving them almost a bird’s eye view of all the action.

“We’re not sure how many cars the stock provider will bring but the derby will run an hour or more and the winner will be the last car standing,” Homann said. “We hope everyone will come early on opening night for the Demolition Derby. This will be the only night for the derby at this year’s fair so you won’t want to miss it.”

But there will be plenty of entertainment on and off the Midway each night of the fair. Camels will be on the grounds each night and those humpbacks will bring a special excitement to the fair.

At the fairground pavilion, the nightly entertainment will feature, the Benton Brothers and Company on Tuesday night, the Alcazar Shrine Band and Johnny Barron and the Waterfall Children’s Band Showcase on Wednesday, SheBANG! Cloggers and the Army band Sonic Fusion on Thursday night, the Troy School of Dance and Johnny Barron’s group on Friday night and Perfection and Grace, a big-time band with music for all ages on Saturday night.

All of the entertainment is included in the entry fee of $6 for adults, $4 for ages six to 11. Children ages five and under will be admitted free. The gates open each night at 6 p.m.