NEWS

84th annual Montana State Fair ends 9-day run

Phil Drake
pdrake@greatfallstribune.com

A dare to ride on the Slingshot wasn’t just a carnival prank at the Montana State Fair on Saturday.

For Alex Lugo, it was a romantic gauntlet for friend Hayley Houck.

“If she would go on the Slingshot with me I would marry her,” the 19-year-old Great Falls resident said with a grin.

And so it goes as the 84th annual state fair at Montana ExpoPark sizzled to an end on Saturday amid temperatures that knocked on the door of triple digits.

The National Weather Service reported a high of 97 degrees in Great Falls as the fair ended its nine-day run.

“We’re having a good fair,” Cascade County Commissioner Joe Briggs said, adding if the attendance numbers are up Saturday it should be a better overall turnout than last year.

Reaction to the fair was mostly good, but mixed.

While some vendors reported brisk business, others said they were disappointed by the turnout.

Some also said Monday’s rains didn’t help.

One carnival vendor, who would not give his name, said business was slow. Another, who also refused to give his name, said he wouldn’t be coming back.

“I’m just being honest,” he said. “I’m just an honest man. It’s how my daddy taught me to be.”

Perhaps they should have talked with Shelley Zauner, who worked the OMG Olive Oil booth inside the Trades and Industries Building.

“It’s been a good week,” she said among rows of bottled oils, adding she had a lot of repeat customers from the year before.

Karen Cleveland, who was selling a nutritional supplement called Thrive, said business was “off and on.”

She said the foot traffic seemed to increase at night. But regardless, she said people would see her there in 2016.

“I’m planning on going again next year for sure,” she said.

Briggs said he was hearing good comments about the fair.

“People seem more upbeat than last year,” he said. “Overall, people are fairly happy.”

The commissioners oversee the staff who run the fair.

Kim Lander, marketing and sales manager for Montana ExpoPark, described fair week as “amazing.”

“I’m sad to see it done,” she said, adding she had heard positive feedback. She also said three night shows, Lee Brice, Thomas Rhett and Dierks Bentley were “true performers who interacted with the audience.”

She said hot days usually led to attendance picking up when it cooled off in the evenings.

“All in all, it’s been a really great fair.”

Attendance numbers are expected later.

There was some disappointment in the fair’s final hours. One of Saturday’s performances, ZZ-3, a ZZ Top tribute band, was canceled due to poor ticket sales, the ExpoPark box office reported.

Among the mix of local and chain vendors, Brian Kapphan, owner of Brian’s Top Notch that featured a slew of fried foods, said he had a “pretty good fair.”

He’s in his 19th year at ExpoPark and said he would like to see the fair have more night shows, because they bring the crowds.

“The biggest thing that hurt us this year is the heat, but I think we’ve had a good fair.”

The PRCA rodeo wasn’t the only big event of the day at Montana ExpoPark, there was a cherry pit spitting contest generating a lot of buzz across the midway.

Gracie Burton, 12, finished first in the women’s division with a hurl of 46 feet. Her twin brother, James, came in second in the men’s division with 50 feet.

P.J. Statham, 14, of Illinois, won the men’s division with 55 feet.

His secret?

“I went with the wind.”

The contest was sponsored by 2J’s Fresh Market and Flathead cherries were used.

For many people, the fair is a chance to celebrate Montana’s deep roots into agriculture. Bob Tomaskie of Helena brought 11 of his mules to the fair to give the public an eyeful.

“It just flew by,” he said of the week. “It seems like it went fast.”

He said participation was up from the past.

“I like the people,” he said. “It seems that everybody comes here for one thing: a good time.”