Another Park County Fair is in the books, and it was a good one.

The fairgrounds were all decked out for fun, with exhibits ranging from arts and crafts, to agronomy, to livestock and needlework, with culinary arts, sewing, woodworking and other categories thrown in for good measure and variety. 

Youth displaying their livestock were dressed in their best, and the animals were spruced up, too. The sheep looked sheepish, pigs hammed it up, the cattle were beefed up and birds of a feather were shown together. 

The pig mud wresting was good clean fun, and the Arena Cross and Bump ‘N Run got motors and audiences revving. The Wyoming Desperados’ mounted shooting demonstration was right on target.  The Terri Clark/Marshall Catch concert provided great entertainment, and, of course, the Demolition Derby brought the fair to a finish with a smashing good time. 

The carnival delighted fairgoers of all ages, free-stage audiences enjoyed the talents of local dancers and fair entertainers, and, as usual, carnival food was an anticipated fare of the fair. 

For the second year, the new exhibit hall at the fairgrounds provided a good place to showcase the results of Park County residents’ accomplishments over the past year, and it added shade, table space and restrooms — as well as the occasional shelter from rain. This was the first year the building was entirely complete, and the value of its addition to the fairgrounds was obvious and appreciated. 

Overall, things seemed to run smoothly.

While the price of admission and parking went up this year, that didn’t stop many people from going, though attendance numbers are still being tallied. It is appropriate that the fair pay for itself as much as possible, and the previous rates hadn’t been raised for several years, even though costs had increased.

An effort this large doesn’t happen without lots of planning and hard work, and our hats are off to the people who helped make it a success: the Park County Fair Board, county staff, and many, many volunteers. 

Thanks for making the Park County Fair something we’ll look forward to again next year.