Each year, between 80,000-100,000 people enter the gates of the Comal County Fair Grounds for the fair and rodeo. Tuesday marks the first day of the 125th year the fair has taken place, and festivities will continue through Sunday. Nancy Tuch, executive secretary of the Comal County Fair Association, has been taking part in the local tradition since she was a child. “I’ve been working here 15 years, and that excitement of when the carnival first pulls in it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is real. It’s really happening. It’s here. It’s now,’" she said. "And I don’t know if you ever lose that feeling even as an adult.” The parade is a community highlight of the fair, and it takes place Friday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Each year, Comal ISD and New Braunfels ISD close school on the day of the parade. Live entertainment will take place Thursday-Sunday. This year, Tanya Tucker and Gary Glenn and the 20X Band will perform Saturday. “Tania Tucker was here when she was 14, and she’s coming back this year on Saturday night,” said Fritzie Richter, the fair’s advertising and publicity director. Richter said for her, the fair is a place where she is comfortable and feels at home. Her favorite part of attending the event is seeing former classmates and friends, she said. “Everybody’s so busy with their own lives that they lose contact with one another, then all the sudden you’re walking through the fair ground and you say, ‘Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen you since the fair last year,’” she said. In addition to vendors and live music, the fair includes a carnival, antique farm show, baby barn yard, corral entertainment and other activities. For the complete event schedule, visit www.comalcountyfair.org/events.