Washington County Fair Board gets ready for July 27 opening

The Washington County Fair Board is making a few changes designed to increase the safety of participants and visitors at the annual weeklong fair scheduled for July 27 to Aug. 1.
 The COVID-19-related precautions were discussed at the latest fair board meeting last week. Some of the temporary changes relate to overall fair operations and some cover youth 4-H and FFA events at the fair.
 The fair usually starts with the 4-H dog agility trials in Weiser on the weekend before the fair kicks off in Cambridge, but that event has been cancelled this year. The 4-H kids didn’t have enough time to train with their dogs during the stay-home order earlier this spring, said Mary Ridout, University of Idaho extension educator in Washington County.
 Only the dog agility portion has been cancelled. The 4-H dog showmanship event and the chance for 4-Hers to win some coveted show ribbons will be held during fair week, Ridout said.
 The 4-H food booth will probably be staffed with adult volunteers and not 4-H youngsters to keep the number of people congregating in the booth down. 4-H officials are working with Southwest District Health and also looking at reducing the menu items and making it more “grab and go” on food orders.
 Ridout said the 4-H leaders council still need to finalize the plans on the food booth, which is a way to raise revenue for the clubs and provide fair-goers with food and beverages. The other option would be to not open the food booth and have the 4-H members bring their own lunches to the fair.
 The state currently remains in stage four of the four-stage reopening plan following the governor’s stay-home COVID-19 order. Restrictions on the size of public gatherings have been lifted as long as social distancing measures are observed.
 The 4-H and FFA members will be finishing their animal projects in the next couple of weeks after putting in months of effort to raise their poultry, rabbits, pigs, steers, goats, sheep and more. Winning a grand champion ribbon for their animal is pretty special at the fair. They will get paid for their investment of time, effort and money on the final day of the fair with the livestock sale.
 Fair organizers want to make sure the popular and often crowded livestock auction in the sale barn is safe and follows social distancing. The plan is to allocate space in the exhibit hall to watch the livestock shows and sale. Speakers on the exterior of the sale barn will allow people to hear the sale outside where there is more room. Both of these measures will allow for more space inside the sale barn.
 Anyone who wants to bid on an animal during the market livestock sale but doesn’t want to attend can have someone bid for them by emailing washingtoncountyfair@ctcweb.net or call 208-257-3773 by Saturday, Aug. 1. There will be proxy bidding available.
 In light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation, families of 4-H youth in the county who may be concerned about attending have been notified that the fair is not a requirement to finish a livestock project.
 “We can help them get their projects completed,” Ridout said.
 The fair is opening up online entries for open class at washco.fairwire.com. The fair awards thousands of dollars in premiums and an equal number of award ribbons to the many individuals and families that enter the open class.
 Fair board members said there will be extended hours to enter and bring entries to the exhibit hall. Additional seating and waiting areas will be set up, along with a drop-off spot outside, to help with social distancing.