From watching a family friendly performance by Professor Bamboozle to viewing favorite barnyard animals, to taking in highly energized rodeo action, there were plenty of entertainment choices at the Columbia County Fair and Rodeo.
The 2024 fair wrapped up its 5-day run Sunday, July 21, but not before all the fun that was had between the numerous events at the annual festival in St. Helens.
At the cow barn Friday, July 19, Megan Evenson, leader of the Clatskanie 4-H, said 24 4-H youngsters participated this year and tended to many animals, including dairy goats, pigs and lambs. For county fair regulars, you might have seen some new faces at the barn.
“I have quite a few new members this year,” Evenson said. “The older kids are helping the young kids learn. It’s just a huge group effort.”
And, as Evenson points out, raising the animals is only the first step for youths showing their work at the fairgrounds.
“All the 4-H kids are usually around their projects," Evenson said. "We encourage the kids to talk about their projects and encourage families to interact with them and ask questions so that they learn what it’s like raising animals.”
Saturday was the livestock auction, according to Evenson.
“We’ll be selling market animals,” she said. “There will be a lot of buyers here looking to see which ones they want to purchase.”
Kaylynn Christofferson, of Scappoose, and her daughters, Ashlynn, Briar and Oakleigh, enjoyed Professor Bamboozle and his magic and grand stage illusions.
“We just moved back after 12 years of being away, so it’s nice being back to an actual big-size fair,” Christofferson said. “Ours (in Alamogordo, New Mexico) was like a third of the size, so it’s nice.”
Over at the rodeo grounds, Kallie Trask of Scappoose, along with her horse Hank, were getting ready to participate in rodeo competition. Trask said she has attended the rodeo for as long as she can remember.
“I’ve been coming since I was in a stroller,” she said. “I’ve been here my whole life. I work as a veterinary technician at Scappoose Veterinary Hospital. I barrel race in my free time.”
While Peggy Howell, fair board president, didn’t have attendance figures as of press time, she did say people had a good time at the fair and rodeo.
“I had a number of people say that it was one of the best fairs that they’ve been to in years,” Howell said, admitting that by Sunday, “everybody is hot and tired.”
Howell noted, however, that some fairgoers expressed disappointment that the carnival was not held on Sunday.
“The public didn’t understand … We didn’t have the opportunity to have the carnival on Sunday,” she said.
Howell added, “I think that disappointed people, that’s really what I’m getting at. They didn’t understand. It disappointed us, but we were just so happy to have the carnival.”
The topic of a Sunday carnival made the headlines earlier this year when a Jan. 8 public meeting of the Columbia County Fair Board considered whether to drop a day from the entire fair event due to the increasing costs of holding the fair, specifically the carnival.
It was ultimately decided to keep the fair a 5-day event in 2024 but to close the carnival on Sunday.
And even with a smaller number of attractions Sunday, Howell said putting on a fair requires a lot of volunteers. When the number of volunteers wasn't quite enough for a smooth event, Howell said she called on her community, and they answered.
“We had a lot of kids who volunteered,” she said. “We didn’t have enough adults, so we put it out on Facebook. The community just rallies around.”
With the 2024 Columbia County Fair and Rodeo in the rearview mirror, that doesn't mean that discussions on family summer fun come to a halt. Instead, planning begins right away for the next year.
“We are having a work session and taking notes of all the ways we can improve it for next year," Howell said.
Aside from the Sunday closure of the carnival, there was brighter news.
“The auction committee broke a record this year with auctioning off the animals,” Howell said.
And when it comes to fair food, Howell’s tastebuds were certainly satisfied.
“I thought the fair food was really good this year, having eaten quite a bit of it,” she said.
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