The 106th Webster County Fair at Bladen, Nebraska is just around the corner. This year it goes back to a slot that was familiar for so many years. The fair begins on Saturday, July 21 with the annual clean-up. The first of many youth events start at 1:00 pm on clean-up day when 4-H youth bring their favorite recipes for home-made ice cream and will participate in an ice cream roll using duct tape, coffee cans and ice to make ice cream that will then be judged.
The livestock portion of the fair starts officially at the Rodeo Grounds at the Webster County Fairgrounds in Bladen with the Working Ranch Horse Competition which is set to begin at 7:00 pm on Saturday evening, July 21st and features 4-H and FFA working their horse through events that emulates tasks that would be required on a cattle ranch. The following morning (Sunday, July 22) the 4-H & FFA Horse Show gets underway with a 9:00 am start time.
The youth portion of the fair continues through the week with many activities for the youth including the 4-H music contest and fashion show starting at 7:00 pm at the Blue Hill high school gymnasium in Blue Hill on Monday evening July 23. The rest of the week will bring a little different schedule of events than what has been followed in previous years. The following information will help both exhibitors and attendees prepare for the fair.
There is reserved parking for 4-H and FFA members and parents again this year. Vehicle and camper parking will not be allowed on the rodeo grounds this year and two special lots located east and south of the sheep barn has been set up for camper parking. This area requires passes that can be obtained from the 4-H office at the fairgrounds. Livestock trailers and vehicles are expected to be parked on the south end of the lot located to the east of the beef barns on the Timm lot which is just north of West Avenue. The overflow will be asked to part on the north end of the lot directly east of the fairgrounds just south of Helen Street. The south end of that lot is reserved for 4-H & FFA camper trailers. Additional 4-H & FFA camper trailer parking new this year is the west half of the lot just north of Mariel Street and adjacent to the fairgrounds.
Tuesday, July 24 brings the judging of the home environment, miscellaneous agriculture exhibits, foods, horticulture, photography, and other static exhibits starting that morning, with the 4-H and FFA Poultry and Rabbit show starting at 8:30 am. All other livestock with the exception of 1st year bucket calves and stocker feeders will be checked in and weighed throughout the day. Please check your Webster County fair premium book for exact times for each species.
The 4-H/FFA Sheep Show starts at 8:30 am on Wednesday morning, July 25. The 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show will follow the 4-H and FFA Sheep Show. Once again there will be a “Best Dressed Goat” contest that will be held at the conclusion of the live show. This should prove to be an entertaining and fun event for exhibitors and spectators alike. The 4-H/FFA Beef Show is split once again this year with the Beef Showmanship event beginning Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 pm. A fan favorite, the 4-H/FFA cat, dog and exotic animal show begins at 4:00 pm in the evening starting with the dog show followed at 7:00 pm with the cat, small and exotic animal show.
Thursday, July 26 is a very busy day at the Webster County Fair. It starts at 8:30 am with the 4-H and FFA Swine Show. The swine show includes a breeding gilt class which is separate from the market swine show. The First Year Bucket Calf competition will be held during the day and includes record book review, an interview and a complete bucket calf evaluation and showmanship event. The competition continues on Thursday with the State Fair qualifying Round Robin Showmanship starting at 2:30 pm and we will terminate that day with an Ak-Sar-Ben qualifying 4-H/FFA Beef Team Fitting Contest starting at 4:00 pm. There is a new format for the Round Robin Event again this year that spectators may find rather interesting.
Webster County is famous for the number and especially the quality of its beef exhibits. This year is no exception. The 4-H/FFA Market and Breeding Beef show will go all day Friday, July 27, starting at 8:30 a.m. with finals of the Webster County Beef Showmanship. The top two senior and top two intermediate beef showmen will be determined at the Wednesday afternoon show, but will come back on Friday morning to compete for Grand Champion Beef Showman under a different judge.
Upon crowning of the Grand Champion Beef Showman, the Market Beef competition will begin, including the Grand Champion Market Beef final drive and results of the Beef Carcass contest. The 4-H/FFA Breeding Beef show will begin at 1:00 pm, or ½ hour after the completion of the market beef show, whichever is later, on Friday afternoon. The breeding beef show will conclude with the crowning of the Grand Champion Webster County Breeding Heifer and then the Supreme Champion Breeding Beef.
The annual 4-H & FFA Livestock Premium Auction and special Webster County Youth Foundation activities will be held on Saturday morning, July 28th starting at 9:00 am. There will a return of the Silent Auction with items donated by area businessmen and producers to go towards the benefit of the Foundation. The items and further information will be highlighted on flyers put up across area communities and a later news article. Premium on the Grand Champion of each species will each be sold at the beginning of the auction with the opportunity for the buyer to have their picture taken with the animal and exhibitor that they are supporting, and that picture will be given to each of them and forwarded to local newspapers. The premium auction would then follow the procedures as it has in previous years.
Saturday afternoon also features a very popular event each year with the Rainbow Classic where pre-4-H youth have a chance to show their pets and sibling’s exhibits in front of a dignitary judge. This fun event will start at 12:30 p.m. There will be a special guest judge again this year. The last event of the day and the Webster County 4-H and FFA Fair is a fun afternoon of activities for all ages being organized by Red Cloud and Blue Hill FFA Chapters and the Webster County Junior Leaders. The Webster County Junior Leaders will also sponsor a “Boot Scramble” each night before the rodeo with two age groups – 4 to 6 and 7 to 9. New this year will be an “Adult Boot Scramble” on Friday or Saturday evening’s rodeo.
All exhibits will remain in place throughout the day on Saturday and through Saturday evening so that fair-goers will have a chance to see the exhibits that the youth have worked so diligently on during the year, bring to the fair for competition, and to show the public what they have accomplished. This includes static exhibits at the 4-H Exhibit Hall and the animals from the livestock barns. There will be “Champions Under the Lights” again this year which will feature and highlight the different Grand Champions and Reserve Grand Champions in the market division of each livestock species (beef, swine, sheep, goat, rabbit and poultry). They will be put in pens in the show arena for all to see under the lights of the arena, with the exception of swine that will be highlighted on the west end of the hog building. The other outstanding exhibits will be in the barns for all to see. The champions in the 4-H Exhibit Hall will be highlighted in the “Marilyn Davis Hall of Fame”.
All non-auction exhibits will be released at 11:00 pm on Saturday night or Sunday morning before noon. All leaders, 4-H and FFA youth, parents are expected back at the fairgrounds on Sunday morning (July 29) to load out the market animals on the trucks for the buyers and to participate in the post-fair clean-up day. We ask that everyone grab shovels, brooms and pitchforks and have them ready on Sunday morning and help put the fairgrounds back into its pristine shape and ready for the 107th edition of the Webster County Fair at Bladen, Nebraska next year.
The 4-H and FFA events are just a part of the Webster County Fair. There are of course Open Class Exhibits, vendors and booths, and Amusement Associates are this year’s Carnival. Tickets are available in advance at local banks, UNL Extension Office & 4-H Fair Office ($10.00 per sheet of 24 tickets). Don’t forget the annual great Webster County Rodeo, a main stay since the very early years of the fair. It will be held at the Webster County Fair Rodeo Arena located on the west half of the fairgrounds. The rodeo kicks off on Thursday, July 26 with a Beef Barbeque at 5:00 pm followed by a watermelon feed, and the Rodeo Princess Contest. The Friday Rodeo is “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” night with a portion of the gate going to fight cancer. It kicks off with a Pork Barbeque at 5:00 pm and ends with a dance with music provided by “West Wind.” Saturday is the big day with the Demolition Derby starting off at 4:00 pm. Steak lovers will have to get the South Central Cattlemen steak sandwich which will be offered from 4:00 pm until gone. Registration for the KRVN “Cash Car” will take place between 6 & 8 pm. The rodeo will have its last go-round that night followed by the second night of dancing to “West Wind”. There is a wild cow race each night of the rodeo and a chance to win a special Montana Silver belt buckle.
For a more complete list of activities or any questions concerning the youth portion of the fair, please contact the Webster County extension office in Red Cloud at 402-746-3417 or check out the web site at: http://www.webstercountyfair.org/ .
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