Fair Board Ready for 2024 Cheyenne County Fair

MIKE MOTZ

Sidney Sun-Telegraph

SIDNEY--Final preparations are being made, and last-minute details are being ironed out by the Cheyenne County Fair Board, which had its second-to-last regular meeting Monday night. After approving the minutes from the last meeting, Treasurer Kip Miller gave the Treasurer's reports, saying that all warrants had been turned in and the outstanding bills had been paid.

The next order of business was approving Gina Elsen as an Alternate Fair Board member. Elsen introduced herself to the group and informed the Fair Board that she is a long-time Cheyenne County resident with a farming background. She has served as a member of the Cheyenne County Visitor's Committee for 20 years and always wanted to work with the Fair Board. She has four children and wants to be a good example regarding serving your community. The Fair Board unanimously approved her as an Alternate Board member.

Amanda Bauer then spoke to the Fair Board members about the Obstacle Course event planned for Saturday morning at the Fair. She said her group was getting close to final preparations and needed clarifications on the event logistics. First, she needed to clarify that the Fair Board would be responsible for the Mud Pit at the end of the course, on the Fairgrounds. They determined the Mud Pit would be approximately 20 feet long and about knee-deep with mud. It was clarified that the mud should be more "soupy" than "thick". Bauer stated that the runners would receive a packet before the event detailing the course and what obstacles they should expect. The course will start near the Shelter House at Legion Park, and the first obstacle is a water slide. The runners will continue along the Deadwood Trail encountering other obstacles. When they arrive at the Fairgrounds, bigger obstacles will be navigated, ending with the Mud Pit at the Finish Line. They discussed having a hydrant with hoses available for the runners to clean themselves off, and transportation options to get the runners and spectators from Legion Park to the Fairgrounds were discussed. This year, there will be no Kids Run, as the course goes from Legion Park and ends at the Fairgrounds; not doubling back as had been done in previous years. Bauer and her assistants spoke to the board members about the logistics of the Beer Garden. The Beer Garden will be open at 10 a.m. for the events but will close at about noon, and then open later in the afternoon. Bauer and her group said it would be important to have the Beer Garden available, as they are trying to make the event more "adult-oriented" to attract a larger crowd, and having beer available is always a good way to draw a crowd in Nebraska. The Fair Board agreed and will work with the group to get the logistics of checking IDs and other details worked out before the event. Bauer said they should have a good idea of how many runners will be participating about two weeks before the event, but she expects a good number of last-minute sign-ups, as this seems to be the way the event has unfolded in the past.

The Rodeo Committee then reported, saying that work had been started on preparing the ring for the event, including getting the chutes washed and ready to be moved into place. Everything necessary to get the ring prepared was reported to be on schedule. Board member Mark Roelle then reported that he had spoken with Todd at Mega Music about wireless microphones, and he believed that Mega Music offers a system that is a good blend between the quality and functionality needed and price. The system costs $498, and the board approved the purchase. Next, Board President Troy Kurz spoke of his efforts to get temporary fencing for the beer garden, but so far he had only received a quote from American Fencing out of Denver for $10,000, which the other members thought was too expensive. Kurz said he also had a call into Van Pelt Fencing in Scottsbluff which should cost significantly less, but he had not heard back from the company yet. Board member Ryan Filsinger suggested that the board could buy fencing from a local vendor for about $72 per 6' by 10' section and keep it to be reused every year, which would save the Fair Board a significant amount of money. There was a discussion on where the fencing could be stored or whether it could be left up permanently. The board decided to wait until they heard back from Van Pelt Fencing with a price before making a decision.

The board then discussed additional arena lights as had been discussed at previous meetings, but they had not received pricing as of the meeting. Filsinger said the lights would not be difficult to install, and that they should know what would be done on the issue by the next meeting. Filsinger then brought up the issue of Fair Photography, as the board wanted to have professional photographs and videos available to use for future marketing efforts. To vendors were approached, High Point Aerial and Michael McGill of Mitchell, who specializes in Rodeo Photography. The board decided to go with High Point Aerial as it offers the best combination of still photography, drone photography, and video clips for the Fair Board to use in the future. They approved $1200 for three nights of photography by High Point Aerial.

Board members Heather Shaw and Filsinger then spoke about a radio interview with the local radio station, but the only time available this week was at 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday. They did not believe such an early time would be conducive to generating additional ticket sales, so they decided to wait a few more weeks until a better time slot was available. Shaw also stated that Fair participants with animals and livestock request a veterinarian be on site for the showing event, and the board approved Creek Side Veterinary Services to be on-site for two hours for $170 per hour. The Rubber Check Race still needed an announcer for the event, and the board is waiting to hear about the availability of DelRay Croppy before making a decision. Finally, there was a discussion about food and merchandise vendors, and it was determined that some of these vendors needed to be contacted about space requirements and whether or not they needed to be indoors before finalizing plans. The Fair Board is confident that this year's fair is planned correctly and will be successful. For event schedules, please go to the Fairboard's website.