Fair week begins Friday

An action-packed Weston County Fair Week will kick off on Friday, July 19, and according to fairgrounds office secretary Kami Lopez, fun events will take place each day until the final event wraps up on Sunday, July 28.

The festivities will begin with a new event called Tuff Trucks, which will involve well-used trucks driven on a dirt bike course, but the biggest crowds will probably show up the following evening.

“(This coming) Sunday is the big night,” Lopez said.

On Sunday, July 21, pig wrestling and a parade, both put on by the Newcastle Chamber of Commerce, will draw crowds. According to Lopez, pig wrestling is probably the most popular event each year.

On Monday, a public fashion review will be held at the senior center and will start at 7 p.m. Youth will model outfits they bought or made for fair week. Family Fun Night, put on by the Newcastle Recreation Board, will also take place at the fairgrounds. This event will begin at 6 p.m.

While Family Fun Nights have been held during past fairs, rec board member Misty Harrington promises a bigger and better event this year. She attributes this to the various activities being offered, as well as more help to facilitate the event than what was available last year.

“Everything is free, and it’s for all ages,” Harrington said. Activities will include a sawdust tank for small children, a greased pole and a tug-of-war competition. Certain activities include prizes, such as Pizza Barn ice cream tokens and even a little bit of cold, hard cash!

Harrington is especially excited about the tug-of-war competition. Five-man teams will compete, and each team will represent a local business. At least one member of each team must work for the represented business. Each team will be auctioned off, with the purchaser of the winning team receiving 50% of the auction funds.

What has Harrington so excited about this particular activity is what the other half of the funds will be used for. According to Harrington, a youth center is being opened in the former Cambria Community Baptist Church building. The center will be operated by Double AAces mentor Haley Himrich, and the remaining auction funds will be dedicated to Himrich to use for operating costs. Money made from food prepared and sold by county commissioner Garrett Borton and his wife, Holly, will also be dedicated for this purpose.

On Tuesday, a mini livestock rodeo will take place. Free-to-use bouncy houses will also be available from Tuesday to Thursday.

Thursday will be particularly busy with a talent show, a cornhole tournament, a farmers’ market and the Pinnacle Bank Ranch Rodeo. Lopez said the rodeo will involve typical ranch tasks such as branding and doctoring cattle — although “contestants will not actually be branding cattle,” she clarified.

On Friday, the big event for the day will start at 6 a.m. This is the Farm Bureau Federation pancake breakfast. There is no price for this breakfast, but donations will gladly be accepted. At 11 a.m., a competition called “pocket pets” will feature small children too young for 4-H, according to Lopez, who explained that the children will present their animals to Bette Sample, and the beloved local educator will “judge” their entries.

The Junior Livestock Show and barbecue are also scheduled for Friday, and the Junior Rodeo will close out the fair on Sunday, July 28. Livestock contests will be held throughout the week.