Fairgrounds Manager Mark Campbell knew for weeks leading up to the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo that the Market Livestock Sale was going to be big, but even he didn’t expect Saturday’s results.
“It’s just a testament to the generosity of the buyers and supporters of these youth programs,” Campbell said.
A record 255 unique buyers registered for the sale and a total of $797,236.50 was raised, a 24% increase over last year’s then-highest recorded total.
The annual sale is jointly organized by FFA, 4-H, the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and the Northwest Montana Fair, and was performed this year through a hybrid model of both in-person and online bidding, an extra accessibility component that Campbell says contributed to the success.
Even though the sale brought in $153,000 more than last year, Campbell said there could have been $120,000 or more additional funds raised, as nearly a third of the market hogs received white ribbons, which according to the fair book disqualifies them from the market sale.
The judge brought in for the market livestock and other categories had a specific set of industry-standard criteria for the hogs that left up to 59 animals out of the sale.
“I’ve been in the fair business for 37 years and I’ve seen some stringent qualifications for judging, but never to this quantity,” Campbell said. “We liked the judge a lot, even though he made it a challenge for us, because he did a great job explaining to the youth what they did well and what they could do better.”
“It shows that we need to do a better job of educating the participating youth and leaders throughout the process, which starts with understanding how to look at and raise an animal,” he continued.
The ag committee, made up of members of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, FFA, 4-H and fair board, reacted quickly to reach out to community members to find buyers for many of the hogs that did not make the official sale.
The overall success of the fair events continued far outside the Trade Center floor.
While official attendance figures are still being tallied, Campbell said he expects the number to be right at, or better than, the record attendance seen in 2019 when 79,372 people entered the gates.
“If we had had a lot more people come, it might have been too much,” Campbell said. “Staffing was a challenge this year and vendors, supplies and resources were a challenge across the board.”
Despite having to rely on a diminished workforce and a lot of overtime, Campbell said the five-day extravaganza was pulled off without any major issues, a testament to the dedication of the community partners, staff and board members who make the fair possible.
The return of the carnival after last year’s hiatus was a highlight for many fair goers, and lines stretched around the fairgrounds as attendees awaited the chance to tilt, whirl and spin.
Twenty-two carnival rides were available, less than a normal year due to staffing shortages with the company, but Campbell said people understood and were just happy that the traditional fair standby returned.
Across the five nights of events, patrons showed up in droves, even during rainy days at the rodeo.
The first evening concert by Chris Janson did not sell out but covered all costs, according to Campbell’s preliminary numbers. The three days of rodeo, on the other hand, broke records for the highest combined attendance ever.
“We’re just tickled with how the rodeo production went,” Campbell said, adding that the extra work to handle changing weather conditions and keep the arena quality consistent provided the most stress over the weekend. “We were competing with four other rodeos the same weekend, so the level of named cowboys was lower than we’ve had, but I just have to give kudos to the patrons who came. They showed up on rainy days and they enjoyed a good rodeo.”
The last night of entertainment was new to this year’s fair experience. Instead of the traditional demolition derby, the night featured a Big Air Bash, a freestyle motocross event that Campbell said brought a whole new segment of patrons the fair normally doesn’t reach.
“All in all, it was safe, it was enjoyed by many and it allowed the community to come together and keep traditions going,” he said. “We’ll put this one in the books with a big asterisk that says, ‘success.’”
