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.