FAIR ENOUGH
Photos by LOREN BENOIT/Press Krys George, of Rathdrum, won first place in the canning competition at the North Idaho State Fair. The fair officially opens Wednesday.
Kari Amos judges knitted socks Thursday at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. A number of fine arts exhibits have gone up prior to the North Idaho State Fair, which opens Wednesday.
The North Idaho State Fair and Rodeo opens Wednesday at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. Attendees can check out the Gem State Stampede PRCA Rodeo, Uncle Curly's Funtastic Kids Zone, The Bugology Show, train rides, stilt walkers, a demolition derby and more. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
A number of 4-H kids have arrived early at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds to decorate their stalls before the North Idaho State Fair. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — Elephant ears. Bucking broncos. Balloon-pop games.
Live music. Dazzling lights. Tantalizing tastes. The Tilt-A-Whirl.
For many, these are the fair necessities.
"What does the fair mean to you?" general manager Alexcia Jordan asked during a recent tour of the grounds. "For a lot of people, it’s the fair foods. Sometimes it’s the carnival. It’s exhibits and rodeo for me.”
"I love the competitive exhibits piece," she said. "It’s a traditional piece that I was always involved in as a kid, so that’s one of my fair necessities."
A self-proclaimed fair junkie who oversees every booth, ride and ribbon, Jordan is flitting from project to attraction to exhibit hall across the Kootenai County Fairgrounds this week as she and her team prepare for the 2019 North Idaho State Fair and Rodeo.
"This truly is my favorite part of the fair, this lead-up week," Jordan said as she visited with exhibit judges and admired entries in a fine arts display. "It’s a lot of work and it’s a lot of long hours, but to see everything that shows up, I am always in awe."
With the "fair necessities" theme, gates open at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
“We have a whole new carnival this year,” Jordan said. “We’re really excited about it."
Paul Maurer Shows, a West Coast carnival and amusement company, will provide the amusement rides. Jordan said this means brighter LED lights, better safety, fresh rides and new experiences for fairgoers.
"I think people are going to be so happy," she said. "That’s one of the things we heard most from people: ‘We want a different carnival.'"
She said new this year is the Golden Ticket, a $90 endless ride pass that's good for every day of the fair.
"You have to pre-buy it up until the day before the fair, here at the fair office only,” she said. "It’s a pretty special deal. We’ve never offered anything like it before."
The big entertainment will commence with the Party in the Dirt, featuring popular patriotic country music star Craig Morgan and special guest Jerrod Niemann from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Findlay Arena. Concert tickets include fair admission when bought in advance, but if bought the night of, concert-goers will need to buy fair admission as well.
Live music and dance performances will be found on fair stages throughout the week, including shows by Avant Coeur Team Gymnastics, Christian Youth Theater and Lake City High School cheerleaders.
“We’ve got three guys from 'The Voice' coming, and it’s all free with admission out here," Jordan said. "I think this is going to be wildly packed."
Xtreme Bulls Rodeo will be in the arena at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and the Gem State Stampede Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Rodeo will be 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Jordan said the North Idaho State Fair and Rodeo had increased from a small to medium, so participants are in for a bigger purse.
"Our rodeo committee is stellar. They're all volunteers, and they put all this work into it," she said. "We’re excited to see what it's like at medium status."
The Idaho Forest Group will present the "Ag-Ventureland" to showcase antique tractors and different aspects of agriculture.
"IFG comes in and does demos almost every day," Jordan said. "They’ll have on display an antique sawmill and they’ll do demonstrations on how to run it, which is really neat."
The farm park will show how food gets from the farm to the table, "the different by-products that are out there. There’s even a germ barn so you can learn about all the different bacteria," Jordan said.
"This is all new this year."
4-H kids will be showing off their projects and their animals as they prepare for the 8 a.m. stock sale Saturday morning.
A community dance floor, a petting zoo, stilt walkers, dog agility demos, draft horses, a demolition derby, Wild West shows, a hypnotist, high dive act, cowgirl tricks, food and merchandise vendors galore.
The 2019 North Idaho State Fair — with all its fair necessities — awaits.
Ticket prices and event times vary.
Info: www.nisfair.fun