Final prep under way for fair

The Sanders County Fairgrounds caretaker and assistant have been working on the nearly 10 acres of lawns since April, getting them as green as possible.

Kim McNeil, the fairgrounds caretaker for 30 years, helped by his wife, Margaret, have been mowing the lawn for months and for the last few weeks have been running the sprinklers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

That all comes to a temporary halt in the near future when thousands of people get to enjoy the grassy fairgrounds for the 2022 fair, starting on Aug. 1, and at the same time they’ll get to check out top quality farm animals, watch rodeo riders hold on, and hold on themselves on a fast carnival ride.

The fair includes three full rodeos rather than two rodeos and a night of bull riding, although the rodeos include bull riding competition. They’re also having two rodeo slacks this year, at 9 a.m. Thursday and Friday. The rodeos begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday with ticket prices that range from $17-$35. The mutton bustin contest for kids will be held during each of the rodeos, said Melissa Cady, the fair manager. Children who’d like to try their hand at sheep riding must have a parent or legal guardian register them for the competition. Children can weigh no more than 55 pounds and must wear long pants, boots or sturdy shoes and it’s recommended they wear long sleeve shirts, according to Cady, who added that no sandals or flip flops are allowed. Winners will receive boots and buckles.

“The fair will be awesome this year,” said Cady, who added that she expects all three rodeos and the demo derby to be sold out this year. “We are hoping to have an easier situation for entering the events each night and will be offering hand stamps early to alleviate the long lines,” she said.

The “Carnage on the Clark Fork Demolition Derby” takes place Sunday, Sept. 4, at 5 p.m. The carnival starts at 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at noon on Saturday and Sunday. Live music on the midway will include Karsen Kreb of Plains, Tanner Laws of Thompson Falls and Jaden Decker of Missoula.

Fair Commission Chairman Randy Woods said the fairgrounds are ready for fair time. He said they have over $50,000 in corporate sponsorship this year. “We have a lot of new food and drink vendors and they’re bringing their own booths,” said Woods, who’s been on the fair board for four years. Cady said they have 28 food and drink vendors signed up, including several new ones, and 50 commercial vendors. Woods said that the Sanders County Concessions Group, a nonprofit organization, is leasing only one booth this year, possibly the fewest since its inception in the 1940s. 

Woods and the other four board members — Kim McMahon, Jim Newman, Ted Forkum, and Brian Crain — will be roaming the grounds and helping during the fair. Woods also said that this year the rodeos will have live streaming on the Cowboy Channel, which will give Sanders County Fair national coverage.

The Plains-Paradise Senior Center is once again offering a free shuttle service from the senior center on Meany Street to the fairgrounds Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until the ending of the rodeos and demo derby. The shuttle service will run every half hour. The service is free but donations are accepted to benefit the senior center.

Thousands of items will be on display in the exhibit buildings — flowers, fruit, vegetables, wood and metal products, quilts, art, and baked goods — all to be judged. There will also be two people’s choice contests, a scarecrow and an ugly flower competition in the Agriculture Building.

Members of the Sanders County 4-H clubs will be holding a cleanup and readiness day Saturday, Aug. 27, before the kids start hauling in their items, which includes nearly 190 animals from snakes to cattle. Animals are always a big draw at the fair and most of the critters of the Sanders County Fair are there courtesy of the six 4-H clubs.

This year will be the first year for the Western Montana Stockmen’s Association Heifer Show, a program that promotes 4-H and Future Farmers of America youth to start their own herd of cattle, said Juli Thurston, who heads the 4-H program in Sanders County. The heifer show will take place right after the beef and dairy shows.

The 4-H will have its dance at the pavilion from 8-11 p.m. Saturday. The dance is put on by the 4-H ambassadors and is free, but donations are welcomed, said Thurston, who would also like to remind the public that they are “welcome to come share some wonderful home-cooked meals” at the pavilion during the fair. “People never seem to realize the public is welcome and it is a fundraiser for 4-H,” she added.