Friends of fair hold fall yard sale

Walter Sprague
Arts and Culture Reporter
 
The Weston County Friends of Fair held its fall garage sale at the event center at the fairgrounds on Saturday, Oct. 19. The event started at 8 a.m. and ran until 1 p.m. According to Pat Morgan, the garage sale is usually held in the spring, sometime in April. 
“Some falls, we don’t have the help,” she said. “It’s too bad, too. Because that’s when the Christmas and Thanksgiving decorations sell really well.” 
Morgan said that this past spring, few of those decorations went out the door. But volunteers came out in adequate numbers this fall, as they have done some other years, so that the organization could put on the second sale this year. 
“It would be nice if that happened every fall,” she said.
The event center opened its doors promptly, and by 9 a.m., the sales were already going strong. Nothing has a price at these sales, Morgan said. Instead, once the bargain hunters have gone through gathering their desired items, they make offers at the front tables. “Most offers are accepted,” Morgan said, indicating that the organizers rarely get an offer they feel is ridiculously low. 
The items for sale are strictly by donations. Anyone who wants to get rid of things – in home or business – is encouraged to contact Friends of Fair. The group can be reached at the Weston County Fairgrounds Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wcfairgrounds/. People can also contact Kara Fladstol at 307-746-9906 or email her at Kara@WestonCountyFair.com for more information.
The money raised benefits the fairgrounds and the annual county fair, Morgan said. Particularly important to her are the gymkhana events. The fairgrounds tries to hold gymkhanas a couple of times a month. These are opportunities for youth to participate in horsemanship events. “We have children as young as 18 months. It’s wonderful to see their parents lead them around on a horse,” Morgan said. “The kids love it!” 
Her favorite parts of these events are the games that take place on horseback with the children, such as the egg and spoon or potato races, she said.
Morgan said she is also glad that they can offer kids something to do that is constructive and a great learning experience, as well as fun. For the children to “get away from electronic devices is needed,” she said.
Other successful fundraisings by Friends of Fair have been to fund part of the cost of building the event center; the balance of the cost was paid with grants. This last year the group raised about half of the capital needed for the fairground’s new sound system. Morgan said she was very proud of the efforts of the volunteers and members of FOF for all their hard work. Without the community, she said, none of this could happen. Memberships in Friends of Fair are available at several levels. For an annual membership, it is only $10 for an individual or $25 for a family. Lifetime memberships are also available for $150. Anybody interested in joining the organization can contact Pat at 307-746-2106 or email her at pmorgan@wyoming.com.