Free admission for Rapid City Fair
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- Published on Friday, June 30, 2017
By Sheila Runions
The Rivers Banner
Attendees at Rapid City’s 137th annual fair were surprised to find no toll booth to collect gate admissions on the road off the highway leading to the fairgrounds. Yet access to those grounds can be made from many points and those without livestock often come in from the “free” sides.
President Nathan Bootsman says, “We only make $200 a year on gate admission and it’s hard to charge at the road when people are walking over from the beach. Our grounds are too open, if they were fenced… We thought we would try it this year on the honour system and also, why not? It’s Canada 150.”
The 2017 edition of the fair, held on June 24, was the same as many in recent years: Rapid City Nursery School held a breakfast; Kirk Bridgeman led the parade on his horse and bearing a Canada flag; Rapid City Chamber of Commerce provided $25, $20 and $15 to float winners; Midwest Recreation District manned the children’s carnival; Rapid City Parent Group held a duck race; Rapid City Rink Board served supper.
At the breakfast, Joy Christie won $95 in the 50/50 draw and 22 people won an assortment of penny raffle items. The parent group also did really well at the breakfast, selling out of ducks for their afternoon race, and they even increased the number to sell. Last year marked the third consecutive year they sold all 200 birds so they decided to try and sell 250 this year. Typically tickets are sold on the fairgrounds but with only 32 yet to sell at the breakfast, there was no need to sell during the day. With the additional revenue from extra sales, they also increased the prize payout; Jim Meakin of Rapid City won $75.
Parade winners were Rapid City Nursery School/Rapid City Library as first, Rapid City and Area Lions Club in second place and Rapid City Restoration was third. The mercury read only 6C at 6 a.m. and it had not warmed too much by the 9:30 a.m. parade start; nursery school teacher Sally Evans says, “I can’t remember a year that I’ve had to have blankets for the kids on the float.” Ag society treasurer Janet Fearnley was grateful there was no rain: “It was drizzling just before the parade but it cleared up as that started. We had a lot of red and white themes and RM of Yellowhead even came down with their float.”
Swiftsure Sea Cadet Corp manned the canteen from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., offering 14 items for sale. Parent Deb Randall of Rivers was pleased they “sold out of hot dogs and some drinks; we’ve had to send people to the store to get more. We’re close to selling out of chips [at 1:30 p.m.] but I wish it was warmer so we could sell the ice cream.” Even by 2:30 that afternoon, it had only warmed to 12C and the strong wind prompted some people to wear winter coats and toques. Four cadets, their parents and leaders were running the canteen as a fundraiser for their 2018 week-long spring break tour of Esquimalt naval base and military museum in Victoria.
Cattle, baking and horticulture were down this year but equine entries exceeded records of recent years. Fearnley says, “Normally we have one page of horses but this year, secretary Chelsea Horn has one full page and about two-thirds of a second one. There are 55 entries, which means people, and some of them bring more than one horse.”
Winners were: Cassidy Howell, Virden, champion pony; Brandi Matheson, Alexander, champion light horse; Lorne McKee, Brookdale, champion miniature horse; Hedley Livestock, Rapid City, grand champion female and best beef animal on the grounds; Suntek Livestock, Foxwarren, grand champion bull; Bernice Finlay, Rapid City, high points for sewing, horticulture and seniors; Janet Fearnley, high points home manufacturing. Lesley Jackson of Rapid City won the Red River Ex Best of Show ribbon for her cross-stitched schooner; she can now enter it in that competition if she so chooses. Rapid City’s Arenda Vanderdeen was the only exhibitor to enter produce; she submitted lettuce, spinach, asparagus and multiplier onions.
