Washakie County Fair Board discusses entertainment

WORLAND – The Washakie County Fair Board met Monday to discuss many different aspects of the up -coming 2016 fair, from entertainment to policy changes to scheduling. Due to renovations of the main meeting building and another event occurring in the adjacent building the meeting was held in the chicken barn.

Dale Wagner was present and asked the board to consider having the Brewfest during the fair this year. The board discussed the issue after Wagner left and a decision was not made. They decided to wait until the next board meeting, April 11, and have Frank DeCroo, who is in charge of the Brewfest, explain the particulars before making a decision one way or the other.

Washakie County Fair Board President Jeff Lapp brought up a couple options for the 2016 fairs entertainment. He had spoken to the same company that put on the tractor pull last year and they would be able to come again but on the Saturday before the fair started. He advised the board that the company would be using, “a different sled than the one that malfunctioned last year.” The malfunction last year caused an accident where one person was injured. The company’s insurance covered all the medical expenses, etc., Lapp said.

Lapp also brought up bringing monster trucks to the 2016 fair. If the monster trucks come to the fair they will perform during the evening of Saturday, August 6, with four trucks involved in the show. Spectators will also be able to get a ride in one of the trucks and get pictures and autographs from the drivers.

Another entertainment option that Lapp brought to the table was getting Ned Ledoux to perform during the 2016 fair. “Ned Ledoux is Chris Ledoux’s son. Before Chris passed away he (Ned) was the drummer for the band, after Chris passed away he took over the band and is now the lead singer,” Lapp explained. The board agreed that Lapp should contact the group about performing during the fair.

The board also discussed changes in policy and contracts to avoid some of the issues that came up last year. One change that was discussed was in regard to pen cleaning and how to ensure that all pens were cleaned by the animals’ owners.

Vendors were also discussed, with allowing for-profit vendors as a large part of the discussion. Also discussed was having each vendor have one specialty that cannot be sold by other vendors, but only one. No decision was made and the contracts and policies would be continued to be discussed at the next meeting in April.

The majority of the meeting was going over the changes in the schedule for the fair book. All the old favorites will still be part of the fair, but the times may change, to make things run smoother. The changes needed to be ironed out as the books will need to go to print in the near future. Copies of the fair book will also be available online this year.

“The fair may seem to be a long ways off, but it comes faster than you think,” Washakie County Fair Board secretary Christy Swing said.