Powder River County Fair: Just Around The Corner!

By PR Extension Office

Mark the dates of August 9-12th for the annual Powder River County Fair “Welding a Strong Foundation in 4-H”. Tuesday will be a day in the arena featuring the 4-H Horse Show beginning at 9 am and lasting throughout the day as exhibitors demonstrate their proficiencies. The popular Rough Stock Challenge, orchestrated by T.J. and Heather Cunningham is scheduled for 6 pm with a Calcutta, plenty of rodeo action and a clown. Chicken bingo (right?!) will be optional entertainment near the beer booth.

Interview judging will take place on Wednesday for 4-H non-livestock exhibits. Open class exhibits can be dropped off Wednesday at the Community Center from 1–6 pm and before 9 am on Thursday. They will be judged on Thursday. All exhibits will be released on Friday afternoon at 5 pm.

“Fun on the Go” will be a highlight for children of all ages at the Fair from Tuesday at 4 pm until Friday afternoon, giving ample opportunity for slipping, sliding, climbing, jumping and totally free enjoyment throughout the Fair.

The Big Sky Memorial Dog Trials are scheduled for Wednesday, beginning at 11 am. A Wild Sheep Riding Calcutta will begin at 4:30 with the contest between the wooly teams at 5 pm. In the cool of the evening, the finals for the stock dog trials will begin at 7 pm, closing the Wednesday day of activities.

Thursday will feature entertainment under the tent, including a watermelon eating contest at 10; music under the tent at noon and a mullet contest at 4 pm. A cornhole tournament and car show will be underway in the park at 2 pm. The 4-H swine show begins at 9 am, followed by the popular “bum” show (calves, lambs, goats, etc.) at 1 pm. The 4-H sheep and goat show will immediately follow, and the poultry show is scheduled for 3 pm. Thursday night will feature the crowd-pleasing attraction, the muddy pig wrestling contest. This year, the event will be held in the arena. Buy your best “pig” at the Calcutta at 6:30 pm, followed by the stiff competition between three age categories boosting of twenty or more teams at 7:00 pm.

The 4-H Beef Show begins at 9:00 Friday morning. At 11 am, kids ages 4-12 can find Toys in the Sawdust. The Fire Department will be back this year with their BBQ at noon with Eva Reil and Stacie Ostendorf playing music during the BBQ. The 4-H Round Robin competition is scheduled for 1 pm. Join us at 3 pm for the Cowboy Poetry under the tent. The afternoon will conclude with the 3:00 pm awards ceremony and Fairbook Dedication to Tracy and Becky Anderson with the 4-H Livestock Auction scheduled at 4:00 pm.

The Calcutta for the East Fork Ranch Rodeo will begin at 5:00 pm with rodeo action starting at 6 pm.

The annual popular Powder River Working Horse Show will be held on Saturday, beginning at 9:00 am. The event was moved to the weekend to promote entries, especially by youth involved in the Fair. Organizer Britt Williams is excited about some changes in the classes to better represent what work horses (and riders) are doing on the ranch.

Pick up a Fair Book at the Extension Office or go to http://www.prco.mt.gov/Fair for a complete schedule of Fair activities.