Lettuce Turnip the Beet at the fair

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SANDPOINT — "Lettuce Turnip the Beet" and have some fun at the fair. And with everything from photos to 4-H and from livestock to computers, the Bonner County fair has something for everyone.

And the best part? You still have time to enter as the deadline for submissions is on Monday.

And you don't want to miss out, Bonner County Fair Director Darcey Smith said. The fair runs Aug. 18-21 and is held at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, 4203 N. Boyer Road.

"Between the fair board, myself, 4-H and our volunteers, we really hold strong to the heritage up here," said Smith, now in her fourth year as manager of the fairgrounds.

Folks can pack a lunch, come out and sit at a picnic table or throw a blanket down, visit all the animals, see all the exhibits, even enter their own items, and spend the day at the fair and make it an event, Smith said.

"We try to keep it your down-home country fair, where you can enter all these contests, show off what you're proud of, whatever skill it is that you have and we love that," she added. "You just get to share it and see people, especially since COVID, the last two years, you really get to meet and greet with your family, your friends that you haven't seen in forever. So it's pretty cool to see that."

If folks haven't been to a fair recently, Smith said they might be surprised at the diversity of entries, from the traditional canning, baked goods, sewing and livestock to homemade beer and wine, fine arts, photography, and everything in-between.

"People create Lego creations and bring ’em. They whittle great things. We have a fishing/hunting department so if you make flies, if you made a rod, if you even made a hook out of like an aluminum can, bring it in," Smith said. "It's neat to see those because it inspires not only like the kiddos that get to see it but even adults that are, 'Oh, I could do that.' "

From 4-H to scouts, there are entries for those projects, too, Smith said.

The food court is full, with a little something for everyone. In addition to fan favorites from past years, including noodles and specialty lemonades, this year, a rolled ice cream vendor is coming on board.

The pandemic has been tough on the industry but luckily the community was able to have a fair last year, with extra safety precautions. Those same protocols will be enforced this year, with signs reminding fair-goers of social distancing guidelines and hand sanitizer. A limited supply of gloves and masks will be available as well.

"The industry took a hard hit with all of these other states who canceled not only fairs," Smith said of the vendors and food booths that help make the fair so much fun. "But when you have street fairs in bigger towns, or you had just whatever type of event that they're able to go to and sell their wares or sell their food and whatnot. That's another reason why I'm glad that we have this we're able to give them another shot at income. They love to do it. That's what they do for a living. So it'll be awesome to see all of those people again."

Indoor and outdoor booths are also full, with almost four dozen inside and another couple dozen outside. There's a mix of commercial, organizations, political and local companies, Smith said.

"We try our hardest not to have a plethora of one or the other," she said. "So that's a nice mixture there."

The popular tractor barn was recently expanded, with even more space for the antique and vintage equipment. "We're gonna have even more tractors and more," Smith said. "So many people love it."

There will be a range of family friendly activities on hand, from the party inflatables, a hay bale maze, and other booths that made up the midway, Smith said.

There will be a wide range of contests, from a "diaper derby" and water balloon toss to a tractor driving contest and, perhaps the funnest, a mullet contest.

"Do you know how many little kids are walking around with mullets right now?" Smith said, before laughing. "It is so awesome. OK, it's rad to see an adult but when you see the whole family [with a mullet], it's fantastic."

The skillet toss is back, although this year the skillets toss will be Teflon ones instead of the iron ones tossed last year. (Several of the skillets broke upon crashing into the ground upon landing.)

Bonner County Fair staff and fair board have spent the past year planning the fair, attending various conventions and workshops and working to make this year's event even better than the award-winning versions of years past.

"We're on the final countdown," Smith said. "We have a checkoff list in our computers, we have a checkoff list in our mind, we have a checkoff list in the kitchen. We're just plugging away at it."

Unlike bigger fairs that are often more commercialized, the Bonner County Fair doesn't charge an entry fee. While there is a $3 parking fee, the proceeds are split between those school and youth groups which work the gates and a scholarship fund. For the past several years, the fair has been able to fund four $1,750 scholarships — all thanks to the public paying the parking fee.

"We are blessed to be able to do that, '' Smith said. "And for those kiddos, it's a huge huge lift of their burden for financial reasons for their education."

Pre-sale tickets for the demolition derby, which will be held Aug. 21, have sold out as has this year's concert featuring the Copper Mountain Band on Aug. 19 and the Challenge of Champions bull riding event on Aug. 20 are close to selling out their pre-sale tickets as well.

"We're just excited to be able to have stuff that people are wanting to come to this year," Smith said.

As in past years, the concert will be held in the outdoor arena, with plenty of room for dancing and fun. The beer garden will be open as will the food vendors, she said.

An effort is made to keep all paid events as affordable as possible so families can attend together.

"Yes, we're running a business, but we want them to be able to afford to bring the whole family, to come in and have fun and enjoy it," Smith said.

For more information or to download a digital version of the fair book, go online to bonnercountyfair.com.