County fair plans move ahead

A worldwide disease has caused the cancellation of nearly every event in Sanders County, but not the biggest one of the year, according to Randy Woods, chairman of the Sanders County Fair Commission.

"No way we're not going to have a fair. And if they give us any trouble, we'll just call it a four-day protest with food and entertainment," said Woods, who's been on the fair board for almost two years.

Members of the fair board - Woods, Kim Bergstrom, Jim Newman, Milanna Shear, and Roberta Smith - had a special board meeting at the pavilion last Wednesday to discuss precautions to take in lieu of COVID-19. Fair Manager Melissa Cady was also present. Only one member from the public attended the meeting, which lasted almost an hour. The board's regular monthly meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17, at 7 p.m. The board had already finished the contracts for the rodeo, parking, vendors, the carnival, and the demolition derby. This is the first time in over 30 years that the Plains Lions Club won't be involved in the derby, which was the nonprofit group's biggest fundraiser of the year.

The main concern will be getting sanitizing stations positioned throughout the grounds, primarily in the carnival and food areas, and in high traffic areas, said Woods. They presently have none, but Cady is looking to purchase some and rent others for this year's fair, which will be Sept. 2-6. She said they'd like to have at least six hand-washing stations, but haven't decided on the number of sanitizer stations or the type, whether they'll be stand-alone or counter top sanitizers or a mixture of both. She said they'll probably need stations that are well built to withstand years of use. 

"Coming up with portable hand-washing stations is going to be a problem with this short notice and with everything going on," said Woods. Sanitizers online ranged from less than $100 to large commercial ones around $700. Newman suggested they buy a couple this year and add more each year. He also noted that the sanitizing stations would be useful even after the coronavirus subsides. 

Woods said they will also be putting up numerous signs around the grounds with reminders of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coronavirus guidelines, such as social distancing and wearing masks. The guidelines will also be inserted in the tri-fold schedule the fair publishes each year. In addition, the board plans to erect Plexiglas on all the fairgrounds-owned booths with openings at the bottom. Because the board could not have known about the pandemic, the cost for these supplies was not in the annual budget. 

Smith said they'll have the restrooms cleaned more frequently and said that perhaps people should stand outside the restroom to wait for an open stall versus going inside to wait. She also said the Montana Department of Public Health told her they don't know when Montana will move into phase 3.

Woods said that vendors renting spaces will have to provide a plan to Shawn Sorensen, the county sanitarian, for approval. Woods said they already have enough commercial vendors to fill the grounds, but anyone interested should contact the fair office in case someone cancels. The main arena seating capacity is 3,108. Spectators will be limited to groups of 50 with a six-foot space between them. One board member suggested that they don't sell tickets to the front row and seats on the ends to make the walkways wider. Woods said they already have 68 cars pre-registered for the demolition derby. He said the events will be great, but he realizes it won't be as profitable as last year.

Juli Thurston, the Montana State University extension agent in charge of the seven 4-H clubs in Sanders County, said they'll be discussing coronavirus precautions at their livestock committee meeting on Monday. "I can tell you that we will follow any fair board and Sanders County Health Department guidelines they put forth to us," said Thurston.

"The show needs to go on. This year we just hope to break even in the end. We're not going to make any money - this is a break-even year because of the signage and all the expenses we have to do, and also if we can't sell half of our seats," said Woods, who added that event tickets will go on sale starting July 1. Woods said they can't just close down the fair for a year and expect to pick back up again in 2021, but he feels it's going to be "another great year.

"One thing we have to realize is that COVID is here for life. It's never going away; it's not going to magically end in November and it's probably going to spike again. We just need to take a bunch of precautions and work toward that," said Woods.