Last-minute fair preparations take place in Plains
<p>Hank Franzen tosses hay around the holding pen for his horses. The animals will be performing during the rodeo events at the Sanders County Fair this week in Plains.</p>
PLAINS- With the start of the 2013 Sanders County Fair only hours away, last minute entries in arts and crafts, ticket sales, rodeo preparations and other details were in full swing at the fairgrounds in Plains on Monday. More and more people gradually began to file onto the fairgrounds before events began on Tuesday.
Hank and Lori Franzen of the Wyoming based Powder River Rodeo Company were on hand on Monday along with 64 bucking horses, 30 bulls and about 80 roping cattle. Two bullfighters, timers, clowns and an announcer fill out the comprehensive rodeo production by Franzen’s company.
Hank Franzen said the outfit has been putting on rodeos for 28 years with the Sanders County event being one of the first in the company’s history. He said the company puts on about 90 productions a year.
“The rodeo here has really grown, “ said Franzen. “The Sanders County Fair is probably one of the most enjoyable rodeos of the year. It’s one of the last true county fairs we go to. It really has that county fair feel to it.”
Franzen said he particularly liked the Sanders County Fair because the timing of the event allows the company to arrive in advance and provides the horses with rest before they perform in the arena.
“We are able to get in here and get them unloaded and rest for a couple of days,” said Franzen. “What we like about Plains is we can get here and relax. The horses buck a lot better when they have some rest.”
Across the fairgrounds in one of the barns, people lined up to enter their original works of art including photographs, acrylic paintings, pottery and other work. Artists from all over Sanders County entered their work to be examined by panels of judges during the fair.
Landscape paintings, Lego sculptures and photographs of nature scenes adorned the display tables as more last minute entries filed in to beat the deadline. Kaylee Cook organized the work as it came in assisting the staff tasked with registering entries. Staff member Judy Griboulet was in charge of preregistering entries in the arts and crafts categories.
“We have some phenomenal artists in this county,’ said Griboulet. “There are a lot of very creative people here. One of the most fun things to watch is how the younger artists have progressed over the years.”
One indicator of how the fair is shaping up so far was ticket sales. At the ticket window, staff members answered phones and sold passes to the rodeo events at a higher pace than previous years. Carol Dykstra said she had sold about 75 to 100 rodeo tickets on Monday alone.
“Sales have been very good so far,” said Dykstra. “The numbers are up significantly this year. I think people are getting used to online sales. We are doing a lot more pre-sales this year.”
Judging for certain events begins on Wednesday Aug. 28. The rodeo, live entertainment and more judging and events will begin on Thursday continuing through Sunday with the conclusion of the fair with the popular demolition derby event. The fair has attracted thousands of Sanders County residents in past years.