Organizers for the Northwest Montana Fair are planning for the 2021 event to set some records this summer.
Fair manager Mark Campbell told the Flathead County Commission at a meeting last month that he expected the livestock component of the fair alone to be 10% larger than last year. The trade center floor is almost set up to host hundreds of animals that will be at the fair as part of the 4-H and FFA market.
While in 2020 many mainstays of the fair were canceled, including the beer garden and carnival rides, the educational components saw record participation and sales with the online livestock auction selling around 300 animals for $643,568.
“We put on a fair for the 4H and FFA kids,” Campbell said, adding that organizers took pride in being able to prioritize the educational aspect of the fair even in a low attendance year.
Grandstand entertainment for the August fair includes a concert by country artist Chris Janson, who canceled his show last year and was replaced by Lee Brice, three days of rodeo and the Big Air Bash on Sunday.
“Big Air Bash is our replacement for the demolition derby,” Campbell said. “It’s a motorcycle extreme event with the backflips and the high jump and all the crazy things you see them do on television through the X Games.”
Ticket sales for the grandstand events are lower when compared to 2019, but Campbell says he expects them to ramp up as the fair gets closer.
“I’m not displeased with the number at this time,” Campbell said “And the reason why is we haven’t spent any money on advertising them yet.”
As a precaution, fair organizers decided to take some of the expenditures off the front end, starting with decreasing funding to market the fair, instead relying on social media and other free forms of advertising.
“We have seen it for years where the last week and even the last couple days prior to a big event the graph on the number of sales just skyrockets straight up,” Campbell said. “I’m anticipating that to happen with the fair. I think our community is much more instantaneous with their cell phones and online aspects.”
The Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo will take place August 18-22. Tickets can be purchased at www.nwmtfair.com.