Fair Board Closer to Solidifing Entertainment for 2024 Fair

SIDNEY--The Cheyenne County Fair Board met on Monday, February 26, and discussed ongoing plans for the 2024 Cheyenne County Fair and also confirmed some of the entertainment options that will be present at the event.

After going through the previous meeting's notes and clarifying a few budgeting issues, the Fair Board discussed their progress with Rockitt Pro Entertainment, a provider of Fair-style amusements and attractions. After discussing the numerous options the company could provide, it was determined that additional meetings would have to be held with the company to determine which attractions would be available during the scheduled Fair days, and budget considerations. It was determined that KDEE Cattle Company would be sponsoring two entertainment features; a Virtual Reality Game Trailer that features 7 Virtual Reality stations and holds up to 24 players at once, and comedy-hypnotist Richard Holmgren, who has been performing at Fairs and other venues since 1994.

The Rodeo event has been confirmed and just a few details need to be ironed out prior to the Fair. One detail was the traditional Hospitality Tent which would provide food and refreshments to the Rodeo Cowboys and workers. A Hospitality Tent with two volunteers has been secured, which solves a potential problem and will keep the Rodeo participants happy and ready to perform.

Another event which was solidified was the Rowdy Round Up Dance Competition, which will be held on Saturday, July 20th at 10 a.m. This year, the event will take place in big Exhibit Building, which will enable the dancers to perform on a non-elevated flat surface and keep the event indoors. Dance teams from all around the region are expected to perform for prizes. Last year's event was well-attended, and all of the teams participating did a great job entertaining the crowd.

Hampton Inn General Manager Sonia Corne was in attendance, and she confirmed that the Hampton Inn will be providing courtesy rooms for the Fair participants who require overnight accommodations as part of their contracts. Corne was the 1986 Cheyenne County Fair Queen and said she knows firsthand the importance of local businesses supporting the Fair. She said, "Everything is so much more expensive now. In order to draw more crowds, they have to provide great entertainment. In order to do that, the Fair Board has to be able provide lodging as part of their contracts. With budgets so tight now, although we can't provide the Fair Board with large amounts of money, what we can do is help by providing rooms to the people who require lodging" The Fair Board members thanked her for her generosity and the Hampton Inn's commitment to making the Cheyenne County Fair a great experience for all that travel to entertain and participate in Fair events.The Fair Board members have been reaching out to vendors and are starting to get responses back, and it seems that a good response is expected, and the Fair should have a wide variety of food and merchandise vendors for Fair goers to choose from. The Fair Board has doubled the frequency of their meeting to twice per month in anticipation of the final push to get all the events confirmed and to start advertising and seeking sponsorships. All new details, as they are confirmed, will be published in the Sun-Telegraph to give the community ample time to plan for their best Fair experience this summer.