Jefferson County Fair preparations wrap up

The Jefferson County Fair and Rodeo kicks off on Wednesday and continues through Saturday night and offers something fun for just about everyone.

Carnival rides, 4-H Club animals, food vendors, and the Northwest Professional Rodeo Association rodeo are all major events. Some new amenities are a 250-foot zip line, bungee jumping, and new carnival rides such as Yo-Y0 swings, a roller coaster, and a 3D haunted house.

“The county fair, historically, has been the gathering of agriculture to meet the city folk, so that city folk could understand what agriculture was doing and that’s really the roots of the fair,” fair coordinator Brian Crow said Tuesday. “Our first fair was in 1931. We really try in Jefferson County to cling to the roots of the county fair. We don’t want to be a big fair, we want to be a fair that people can come to and create those memories that last a lifetime.”

Hundreds of children have been working hard to prepare their 4-H Club animals for the fair. The 4-H Club is a youth development program that helps children learn by being actively involved, having responsibilities, creating art, or caring for an animal.

Some of the livestock that children and teenagers raise include chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep, pigs, and steers.

“She’s nice, gentle, calm, but sometimes she doesn’t like to participate,” Emily Pineda said about her pig. “You have to be really patient with a pig, or they don’t really get you.”

For example, a child or teenager who brings a pig to the fair has usually been raising, feeding and caring for the animal for about five months. Each child spends several hours with their animal to get it prepared for the different shows at the fair.

“They’re pretty hard to control when they get bigger, and you have to work real hard with them,” James Smith said about his goat.

“Every year, I look forward to market,” Tyler Clarkson said about showing his pig. “Showmanship is fun, and that’s half of the fair, because showmanship is how well your pig works with you.”

The fair is free for everyone, but guests have to buy rodeo and carnival ride tickets.

More information: https://www.jeffco.net/fairgrounds/page/2018-jefferson-county-fair