After 50 years of attending the Butte-Lawrence County Fair, the Nisland fairgrounds hold a special place in Jim Kokesh's heart.

"This is the ideal place for it," he said. "It's very important to preserve. It's something I don't want to see lost."

Kokesh, president of the fair board, said the interest level is up this year, and more people have entered than in the past few years.

In April, the Nisland town council decided not to renew its lease on the Butte-Lawrence County Fairgrounds, but Kokesh said that never affected the fair being held there.

Although Nisland had the fairgrounds lease, Kokesh said the city did a good job of taking care of the land. He said now all of the work is done by volunteers, including painting and fixing different areas, and that 4-H clubs do a lot with their own money.

Kokesh hopes to soon be able to get money to repair the grandstands, which were condemned three years ago. The site has been listed on the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, and Kokesh said the fair board is trying to get funding for historic preservation to fix the grandstands.

"It's been in the talking stages, but there's nothing to report on at this time," Kokesh said.

Kay Hall, a fair board member, said she has been volunteering at the fair for about 15 years and agrees that the fairgrounds are special.

"It's one of the prettiest fairgrounds around," Hall, of Nisland, said. "I just want to see this fair keep going. That's what keeps bringing me back."

About 1,400 people attended the fair's free barbecue last year, Koesh said, and he expects about the same number to come for "the big day" this Thursday.

"To me, it's just a great place to come, bring children, turn them loose, and they can just have a great time," Kokesh said. "It's a lot of fun. I don't know where you can have as much fun as you can have here."