The 38th annual Jefferson County Fair has come to a close, and, according to Jefferson County Fair Board Chair Terry Minow, “a fair of the heart” was “a fair to remember.”
“The fair board is really pleased with how the fair went,” Minow said. “There were some schedule changes that made it more challenging, like the acrobats getting stuck in North Dakota and the rodeo being on a different day, but people enjoyed themselves.”
Typically the Northern Rodeo Association rodeos are on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, but this year the NRA rodeos took place on Friday evening and Saturday evening.
“It was a blowout,” said Jefferson County Rodeo Association member Brian Dawson. “It was one of the biggest turnouts we’ve had. Saturday night was sold out with standing room only.”
“It was amazing,” added JCRA President Brady Nordahl. “While it may take time for people to realize the change, I’ve had nothing but great feedback. More people want to attend events Friday or Saturday night than sit in the heat Sunday afternoon.”
As far as next year’s NRA rodeo is concerned, Minow said it’s “up to the rodeo association when the rodeo is held.”
“We defer to them,” she said.
The fair was busy, Minow said, and she enjoyed seeing so many people from Boulder and the surrounding towns out and about. This goes for Saturday night’s barn dance, featuring Clint Rieder and The Longhorn Band, which she said couldn’t have been better.
“We had a great turnout,” Minow said, estimating that around 2,000 people came out for the weekend. “It was exactly what we love: an old-fashioned country dance with people of all different ages enjoying themselves together. That’s why we make it a no-alcohol event. We encourage children to be there.”
Not only did people come out to enjoy the fair, but Minow said she was pleased to see many volunteers come out to help.
“We had a good mix of new volunteers as well as people who have volunteered a number of years,” said Minow. “We’re grateful to have such dedicated volunteers.”
Volunteer numbers were up, as were vendors.
“We had right around 20 vendors this year,” said fair board member Randi Levin.
As is always the case, Minow said there is some room for improvement, particularly when it comes to fair entries.
“We said in the fair book all entries would be entered online, and, even though we told people we’d help them fill them out online when they got here, some people got discouraged and didn’t bring their entries,” Minow said. “Next year we’ll make it very clear that people can fill out the paper entry, bring it in and we will enter it into the computer system when they get to the fair.”
All in all, however, Minow said the fair was a success, with an impressive $8,000 baked goods auction, a lively 4-H barn, high participation in the parades, constant crowds at the carousel, and much more family-friendly excitement.
Those interested in learning more about the Jefferson County Fair can call (406) 225-4039 or go to www.jeffersonmtfairrodeo.org.
