The Fourth Monday series at the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center welcomes Fran Burns on August 28 at 4 p.m., 321 Main Street, Reisterstown.

Fran Burns, a member of the Maryland State Fair Board of Directors, has a special connection to the state fair. Her great-grandfather, John M. Dennis, was the President of the Maryland State Fair in the 1920s and 1930s, and her family has remained active ever since. Burns has been an exhibitor, volunteer and supporter, and is founder and sponsor of the Hellen Burns Smyth Memorial Award presented each year named in memory of her late sister, who loved to exhibit and show at the fair.

Burns runs tours of the backstretch at Timonium racetrack during the fair, an activity she’s been involved with as Head Tour Guide for the annual “Sunrise at Old Hilltop” Tours during Preakness week at Pimlico. In 2022 she was the recipient of the Joe Kelly Unsung Hero Award, presented by the Board of Directors of Maryland Million Ltd. which celebrates important characteristics that are valuable, but sometimes go overlooked, in the horse industry. Burns is an advocate for off-track Thoroughbreds, Maryland racing, and Thoroughbred rescue and aftercare.

Burns will talk about the history of the Maryland State Fair and her family connections on the afternoon of August 28 starting at 4 p.m. at the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center in Reisterstown. Attendance is free.

The Maryland State Fair starts this year on August 24 and runs 13 days, Thursdays through Sundays, plus Labor Day Monday, through September 10.