Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rodeo on tap for county fair

There will be a rodeo at this years Nevada County Fair.

Rebecca Holley, president of the Nevada County Fair Board, said the rodeo will be Saturday, Aug. 27, opening night of the fair. The rodeo will begin at 7 p.m., and be a high school event for contestants 18 and under.

Holley said she has called Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor about getting utility poles set up at the fairgrounds for vendors with the carnival, but has not heard back from him yet. I called City Hall and gave them the details. I hope to get it taken care of soon.

Candy Land Entertainment will again provide the carnival and rides. Holley said there have been no other calls about anyone having booths at the fair.

At this point there is a lot of work to be done to get ready for the fair and rodeo. Holley said tents for the livestock premium sale dinner will be obtained from area funeral homes and the dinner will be held near the sale pen, as it was last year.

Fresh wood chips will be put down in the sale and stock pens for the livestock.

In talking about the premium sale dinner, Rex Dollar, with the Nevada County Extension Service, said the menu hasnt been discussed yet, but some of it will be pot luck  such as desserts and side dishes.

According to Dollar, the organization has been putting money back for the dinner in hope of making it self-sustaining in the future. These funds will be used to purchase the meat for the dinner.

Getting down to particulars, Holley said Phillip McAdams will be in charge of the gates, while Carol Tyree is taking care of the fair book. Dollar will be in charge of getting judges for the livestock premium sale. He said it will cost about $100, and hell try to get someone who will help the children.

Lisa McClure is again in charge of the fair pageants. Holley said McClure may need to borrow some money from the Board to purchase trophies and crowns, but will pay it back once the pageants are over

Additionally, Holley said she is working to get a mechanical bull for the final night of the fair. However, there has been no response from the person who has the bull.

The Board decided to stay with the same times and schedule for the fair events from last year as it went well then. The livestock premium sale dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m., with eating to begin at 6 oclock.

In discussing the need for small animal pens, Dollar said 10 pens should be enough for chickens. Holley said Tyson may donate some pens as well.

Some fairs, Dollar said, auction off the chickens and make big money, but added he didnt think it would go over well locally. Some bidders at larger fairs, he told the Board, pay $75 and more for the birds.

The livestock show will be larger this year, possibly one of the biggest in recent years. Part of the reason is Emmet schools Future Farmer of America program has been active this year and will bring at least 13 head of cattle, along with some goats and sheep to the show.

Should this happen, more stalls may need to be added, Holley said. Last year the stalls were full. But, she added, if stalls cant be added, the livestock could be split into groups for judging. It would take longer, but would also be more fair to the children showing the animals.

The Board will meet once more before the fair, at 7 p.m., Monday, Aug. 8, to get things finalized and make sure the fairgrounds are cleaned and ready.