Concertgoers listen as La Fiera de Ojinaga performs at the Chase County Fair in Imperial on Aug. 14. Most Mexicans who call Imperial home hail from the northern state of Chihuahua, where the band is also from. (Bob Alberts/Flatwater Free Press)

IMPERIAL, Nebraska — In a dusty show barn, kids march out their prize-winning swine as an auctioneer sings out competing bids.

Outside, shrieks pierce this hot August night as families spin in loops on lit-up carnival rides. Vendors sell giant chocolate ice creams and funnel cakes, corn dogs and lemonades.

Every year, the Chase County Fair & Expo draws 10,000 people to this county of 3,764. They come for the classic small-town rite of summer. And they come for the fair’s annual concerts.

This year, the county fair did something new. For the firs

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