Plans for a family fun-packed fair week at the end of July are well underway.
The fair theme this year is “Stars, Stripes, and County Fair Nights.” “This year’s theme was chosen as it is our 140th anniversary and it will be a great celebration of those 140 years,” Sheridan County Agricultural Society President Scott Lindsey explained.
Grand Marshals for the Fair is Dale & Shirley Adkinson of Gordon. “We are grateful for the many years of service Dale & Shirley have given to the fair. They will ride in the parade just after the color guard,” stated Lindsey. Parade entry forms may be found on the fair website and Facebook page. Parade entries will be handed in the morning of the parade and line up first come, first serve after the Color Guard and Grand Marshall, just like in years past.
Back for the fourth year, is the three-night PRCA Rodeo. Lindsey explained “We welcome back our stock contractor Muddy Creek Pro Rodeo to provide us some of the very best NFR quality stock.” Slack will be at 9:00 am on Thursday and Friday, and the PRCA rodeo performances will be on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday starting at 8:00 pm each night. “A new change this year is the rodeo times. We pushed them back one hour for various reasons. We fight the sun and heat at 7pm, and people are still in the hay fields, so we pushed it back one hour to 8pm,” stated Lindsey. There’s a new lineup for the arena this year. “We will have Danger Dave Whitmoyer as our Clown and PRCA Barrel man this year, and our new announcer is Garrison Panzer, and Kye Todd will be our music director. We are excited about these gentlemen coming to Sheridan County,” stated Lindsey.
New this year will be the Sheridan County Fair and Rodeo Tailgate Party starting at 7:00 pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday prior to the PRCA rodeo. “We wanted to make this an experience, and bring people to town to come and eat, relax, and get ready for a great rodeo performance each night. Thursday will be wiener dog races and a fireman race. Friday will be chicken barrel racing and another fireman race. Saturday finishes off with a mom race for a piece of jewelry donated by DanniJo Designs, and the finals of the fireman race, and KSDZ will be doing a live remote each night for the tailgate party,” explained Lindsey.
Sign up information, and further details will be coming soon!
Another new addition this year is updated sound for the arena.
“We have updated our sound with four new speakers in the grandstands, and three on the south side of the arena. This update will allow our contestants, judges, and fans to fully enjoy hearing the rodeo and everything with it. Sound has been an issue for us, and we are excited that at this point we were able to update our equipment,” explained Lindsey. The old sound equipment won’t be going far though.
“Our hope is that the old equipment can be used up on the hill where the livestock sale is put on. There is nothing wrong with our old system, we just needed something to cover a bigger area. We hear a lot about the sound quality up where the sale is, and we are hoping that we can use our old system, in a smaller area, and have good success,” furthered Lindsey.
Entertainment will play on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night throughout Gordon. Thursday night entertainment will be at the Gordon Country Club with Twisted 20 from 7:30-11:30 p.m. Friday night the Gordon Legion will be host to Victory Underground from 9:00 pm to 1:00 a.m. Round out your week on Saturday to the sounds of Westbound at the Gordon Legion from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
Kicking off a week before the fair starts is the 4-H horse show on July 13. Check-in begins at 7:00 a.m. with the show starting at 8:00 a.m. at McGinley Arena.
Officially starting fair week is the style show and music and poetry contest at the Nebraska Extension - Sheridan County Office in Rushville on Friday, July 19. Activities begin at 9:00 a.m.
The Junior Rodeo will be Saturday, July 20. The same format as last year will be followed. Junior Rodeo entries will be online only again this year. Waivers and payment will be taken from 7-9 a.m. Sharp, then 10 a.m. the Jr. Rodeo will get underway.
If your child is interested in participating in any of the Junior Rodeo events this year, get them registered online by July 14. Registration information can be found on the fair website www. sheridancountyfairandrodeo. com.
“Pre-registration speeds things up and ensures a smooth and accurate rodeo. It allows parents to just sign waivers and provide payment,” Lindsey explained.
“4-H Animals will weighin on Sunday July 21 starting at 7:30 a.m. with Swine, sheep and goats, then beef, followed by small animal check-in,” stated Melissa Mracek, Sheridan County Extension Educator. The day ends with the ever-favorite Color Run at 4:00 pm, and then a scavenger hunt at 6:30 p.m.
Monday, July 22 will begin with the static judging as well as the open class check-in. The Rabbit and Poultry shows will be held at 1:00 p.m., and the evening will end with the Family Fun Night starting at 5 p.m.
The Businessman Showmanship will be held during the Family Fun Night. “This year the business participants will show sheep and goats “Business Showmanship has become an annual favorite. Everyone looks forward to seeing the community members participate,” said Mracek. This event provides an excellent opportunity for youth to interact with community members.
New this year is the cake and cookie jar auction at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 22. “The 4-H Council decided this year to highlight the Cake and Cooke Jars at their own auction on Monday. The 4-H Foundation will again be hosting a BBQ on Monday as well. This will allow for the sale on Wednesday to start a little later to help with the heat.”
On Tuesday, July 23 the swine show kicks things off, then back for it’s second year will be the unified showmanship. Unified Showing teams up current members with youth who cannot own animals of their own. “We are excited to provide this new opportunity for a second year for the youth members of Sheridan County. It was a true highlight of last year’s fair. Not only will it allow new people to participate but also will provide leadership skills for our current members.” explained Mracek. The sheep and goat show round out the 4-H events for the day.
The Kevin Kruger Memorial Tuesday Night Ranch Event and Ranch Bronc Riding will be held Tuesday, July 25 at 7 p.m., at McGinleyArena. “This really is a great night to come out and cheer on local cowboys and cowgirls. Our Ranch event this year is teams of four people, where they have a stray gathering and trailer loading,” explained Lindsey.
The night will start with Mutton Bustin’, and just like years past medals and buckles will be passed out right away. Then the night moves into the Kevin Kruger Memorial Ranch Event and Ranch Bronc Riding. One change this year is the schedule. “We moved the mutton busting entries back 30 minutes. Again, just to give everyone a chance to get off of work and make their way to the arena. Entries will be from 5:30 to 6:00 p.m. We will roll right into our Ranch Event and Ranch Bronc Riding right after the mutton bustin’ is over,” said Lindsey.
Wednesday, July 24 will start with the Legacy Coop Breakfast and the Beef Shows. That evening will be the 4-H Sale in the metal building with the meal also being served there. Like years past, the buyer bonanza will be held from 5:00 to 5:30 p.m., then livestock will sell starting with the parade of Champions at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 25 starts the day with doughnuts provided by Security First Bank followed by the PRCA Rodeo Slack and Breeding Beef, Stockers, Dairy shows. The Cat show begins at 1:00 p.m., with the Dog show to follow. That evening will be the first performance of the PRCA Rodeo starting at 8:00 pm. Back this year will be the Teen Dance starting at 8:00 p.m.
Back again this year will be the inflatables on the Legion baseball field. The inflatables will be open on Thursday, July 25 through Saturday, July 27 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm each day. “We will have a climbing wall, giant slide, dalmatian house, shooting gallery, and laser tag. There’s something for everyone,” stated Lindsey. Tickets for the inflatables are $20 per day, or $50 for a three-day pass.
Back for its second-year year is the Sheridan County Queen and Princess contest. Robin Scherbarth and Eva Sampson are coordinating this year’s events. The Princess contest will kick off as a one-day event on Saturday, July 20 at the Jr. Rodeo. “We are excited to offer the Princess contest to local and out of town girls ages 8-15”, commented Sampson.
Princess contestants can sign up at the Junior rodeo from 7-9 am. Later that week will be the Sheridan County Queen contest.
“This is an opportunity for young women ages 16-25 to hone their horsemanship and public speaking skills while representing Sheridan County and Professional Rodeo,” stated Scherbarth. Queen Contestants must submit their application by July 7. Applications can be found on the Sheridan County Fair Website.
Friday, July 26 kicks off the day with rodeo slack starting at 9:00 a.m. Up on the hill also starts at 9:00 a.m. with the clover bud parade, followed by the small and large round robins. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. for the inflatables and activities. Friday also marks the second PRCA Rodeo performance at 8:00 p.m.
A full slate of events rounds out the 2024 fair week on Saturday, July 27 starting with the cowboy breakfast, the quilt show, and the parade on main street. At 10:30 a.m. project and open class pick up begins. At 5:00 p.m gates open for the inflatables and activities. The final performance of the PRCA Rodeo begins at 8:00 p.m.
Again, this year no outside coolers are to be brought into the fairgrounds. Sheridan County Ag Society President Scott Lindsey explains, “We had no issues last year, and that is a big testament to the great people of Sheridan County. They listened and respected our decision. We want this to be a family event, and safety is our concern.”
Again, there will be designated areas for beer and liquor sales, but no outside liquor will be allowed.
“Just like last year, Fuel Grill will be set up to sell beer, and mixed drinks on the grounds,” stated Lindsey. Drinks and wristbands will be sold at the beer garden located by the concession stand on the south side of the arena.
“We are excited for this year! A lot of planning, a lot of organizing and hard work has gone into making this a great experience for everyone. We hope there’s something for everyone!” stated Lindsey.
For a full schedule of events and information about tickets or contests visit the fair website at www. sheridancountyfairandrodeo.com.