“I’ll totally help out, but I don’t want to be in charge of anything,” said everyone we asked to be a part of the revival of the Country Fair back in 2002.
The Truckee Carson Irrigation District had hired me to plan and implement a one-year-long celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Newlands Project, which was authorized by Congress in 1902. The Celebration was to kick off in March of 2002 and culminate the following March with a reenactment of the opening ceremony of Derby Dam which was held in 1903. During that year we planned several events that showcased agriculture and the Newlands Project and promoted them throughout the area to draw awareness to our community and the rural way of life.
Sometime during the previous decade whoever was in charge of the old, traditional County Fair had died or retired or got sick of everyone – my memory isn’t that good, but there hadn’t, as of 2002, been a county fair in several years.
When I was a kid, it was a big deal to enter our vegetables and flowers and the clothes we had made in 4-H in the fair and get to go see what everyone had made and win ribbons.
So, one of our biggest ideas for the Newlands Centennial was to revive the county fair – and I knew just the woman to help me pull it off. Sue Frey.
“What do I know about county fairs,” she said when I asked.
“Well, I don’t either, but you know a lot of people and that’s what we really need,” said I.
She laughs at me every time we run into each other in town because she is still running the fair twenty years later, and every year and she makes sure to “thank” me for the opportunity.
We were talking about how long she’s been doing this the other day and how many of her original folks are still involved as well.
Vicky Eckert was one of the “yes, but don’t put me in charge of anything” folks, so we immediately handed off the quilt show to her. And every year she is down at the multi-purpose room hanging that year’s beautiful creations, expertly and artistically created by the talented quilting ladies of our community. She is so proud of them and loves to show them off. “Vicky’s husband told me one day several years ago that doing the quilt show really helped her self-esteem,” said Frey. “She just came out of her shell and is a natural leader.”
Pat Whitten was a saving grace for us. She had worked at the Extension Service long enough to have lived through several county fairs and knew all the ins and outs of doing the Premium Books. Linda Binns helped out as the Treasurer of the group. Diane Ford and Irene Frey did the roses and the flower shows. Pat Getto put together the photography. There were so many more people who just jumped in and helped do whatever needed to be done.
At some point during the return of the fair, there was a naming dilemma, and organizers agreed to change the name from the County Fair to the Country Fair. Part of that debate revolved around the fair being held with the Cantaloupe Festival during Labor Day weekend, which was after the State Fair, so kids weren’t able to show their animals at the state fair.
In terms of events and exhibits, this year is no different from all the years before, except people are more excited after a year of lockdown. Sue is blessed with a plethora of volunteers who each take one little part of the fair and make it a success. Once again, there will be an antique tractor show headed up by Johnny Hancock who follows in the footsteps of Debbie and Charlie Frey who sponsored the show for years. The World of Corn show has been taken over by the FFA students from Marshall Brown. Both Otts and Renner will bring tractors for display. There will be a fun run, a paint and sip, the museum is doing a Newlands Project display, there will be a largest cantaloupe contest, and of course, the animals display set up by the local 4-H students.
The fair is also returning the Farm Festival for local 5th Graders that will take place on Friday morning, August 27. The Nevada Department of Agriculture will bring displays along with their demo cow, Moolissa. The Farm Bureau and the Cowbells will present the Wow That Cow program and Sonya Johnson has made each student a fortune cookie with cow facts inside. The Northern Nevada Dairyman are sponsoring the transportation costs for students with the school district and the Dairy Council is sponsoring the Ice Cream Castle.
It’s all about our heritage,” said Sue, “this is real agriculture, this is how we teach kids this is where your food comes from.”
Premium Books for all the instructions on how to enter the fair can be found at local merchants: Lattin Farms, Jeff’s Digitex, Churchill County Library, and the Extension Office. There are 12 separate sections that can be entered, from photography to flowers, along with the Educational Display Contest.
The Country Fair is part of the Cantaloupe Festival with runs this year from August 27 – 29.
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