New food, fun slated for fair

The 2018 Sanders County Fair is once again returning with a mixture of traditional festivities and bringing in some new ones.

The biggest new arrival this year is Paradise Amusement, which will provide the carnival for the fair for the first time. Chris McGuigan, the fair manager, said the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, amusement company will have 12-15 adult rides and 5-7 kid’s rides beginning at noon Thursday.

Also new this year is “Open Mic” time, which will take place in the midway area from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. As of Monday, there were only two slots open – Saturday from 6-7 p.m. and Sunday from 5-6 p.m. Anyone interested in participating can call the fair office at 826-3202.

So far, there are 21 food vendors and 64 commercial vendors signed up for this year’s fair, in addition to the Sanders County Concessions Group, which will have eight booths this year. For the first time, the Thompson Falls Grange, one of the nonprofit organizations in the concessions group, will be serving breakfast on Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., said Don Burrell, president of the concessions group.

The fair manager said there will be four new food vendors this year. A Hot Springs group will be serving wood fire pizza. A Thompson Falls organization will have a hot dog cart. Another group from Thompson Falls will have an espresso cart, and a Plains organization will be selling waffle sandwiches. McGuigan said 30 percent of the commercial vendors this year are new ones.

Cowgirls Kickin’ Cancer, formerly Chicks ‘n’ Chaps, had to cancel its annual event due to a lack of people signing up, according to Cathy Johnson.

The fair will offer new reserve parking passes in the north parking lot for $45 for the week, but there are only 100 spots, the manager said. In addition, he said there will no longer be parking along River Road from the bridge to the main entrance.

The first judging for this year takes place Tuesday with open class photography, home sewing and needlecraft, followed by judging of open class horticulture and floriculture Thursday. The open class horse show in the Jason Hanna Arena is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The 4-H judging for showmanship competition goes 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Friday, and 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday. Showmanship judging will include: horse, sheep, goat, dog, swine, llama, rabbit, cat, poultry, beef and dairy. The 4-H round robin competition is scheduled for 3 p.m. for small animal and 4 p.m. for large animal Saturday.

The 4-H silent auction takes place from 6 a.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Sunday. The money raised goes back to the member who made the item, said Juli Thurston, the Sanders County extension agent. Thurston said the public is invited to the 4-H Dance on Saturday at 8 p.m. in the show arena. There is no door fee, but donations will be accepted. The 4-H week will finish up with the Market Stock Sale, which begins at 10 a.m. Sunday and is also held in the show arena.

Karen Dwyer, a 4-H volunteer and the recipient of this year’s Community Service Award, will be the honorary grand marshal at the fair parade, which takes place Saturday at 11 a.m. in downtown Plains.

Fair time also means rodeo time. Thursday will feature the PRCA bull riding competition in the main arena beginning at 8 p.m. The children’s mutton-busting contest will take place during a break in the bull riding competition. PRCA rodeos are scheduled for Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. Women’s Professional Rodeo Association barrel racing competition will take place some time during the bull riding and rodeos competitions. The rodeo slack competition, which is free, is slated for Friday at 9 a.m. in the main arena.

The final event of the fair will be the popular Demolition Derby, one of the fair’s biggest attractions. The derby is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Sunday.

McGuigan said this is one of the best fairs in Montana. “What can I say, lots of green grass and the best rodeo in the state,” said McGuigan. Last year, the Sanders County Fair had 21 of the top 30 cowboys in the country, he added. “We have lots of vendors, a new carnival, a lot of new food, and endless fun and pleasure.”