A special section of
Faribault Daily News www.faribault.com
The top 10 reasons to visit the Rice County Fair
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Always a favorite: Livestock
Really though, there’s not much to a fair without animals. Some of it even started over the weekend with 4-H agility dog shows and obedience, showmanship and rally dog shows, but there’s still plenty left for this week at the Rice Country Fair. On Tuesday, when the fair kicks off, so do the 4-H poultry, pigeon and dove shows in the judging area at 3 p.m. Wednesday has the lamb lead show at 8 a.m. and the dairy open jackpot show at 9 a.m. Before the
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day is over it will see sheep, cow/ calf, beef and rabbit shows. Thursday begins with a dairy and horse shows at 9 a.m., a goat show at 1:30 p.m., a sheep show at 3 p.m. and a market goat open jackpot show at 6:30 p.m. Friday it will be more of the same with a swine show at 8 a.m., sheep from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., beef at 9 a.m., goats at 11 a.m., horses from 4- 10 p.m. and beef again at 6:30 p.m. After lamb and horse shows at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, the livestock
check out the Theater of Fools on the Cannon Stage at 4 p.m., 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. There’s also the Schell’s Hobo Band on the Legacy Stage at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday are loaded with entertainment. There’s the Czech Singers, the Hog Calling Contest, the Charlie Sticha Band and the Dan Perry and Ice Cream Band on Friday, and Sat-
downtown Northfield. Each month, the winner will be asked to select one of Cakewalk’s daily eighteen flavors of cupcakes. From salted caramel to strawberry cheesecake and PB and J to a chocolate stout (includes Baileys) and everything in between, the decision could be tough. If sweets aren’t your thing, two other grand prizes allow for the chance to get away. A two-day trip to Spirit Lake Retreat in Frederic, Wis., is up for grabs, as is a $500 travel gift, according to fair manager John Dvorak. Dvorak explained that the twice daily drawings will take place at 5 p.m. and again at 10:15 p.m. To be eligible, attendees’ parking passes must be dropped off in the designated commercial buildings beforehand and they must be present to win.
Brain power: 4-H’s Rube Goldberg machine and other exhibits
The 4-H Engineering Design Challenge for 2014 is to build a Rube Goldberg Machine, an overly-complex contraption that performs a simple task. Rube Goldberg Machines use everyday items in a whimsical way. They interact as a series of chain-reaction steps to accomplish a simple task. In the contest, youth not only employ physics and engineering, but also humor and storytelling, to create their RGMs. One local 4-H team of five has accepted the challenge and will present its project at the Rice County Fair, which opens July 15. “We have to have a theme so we decided to do something funny that happened in American
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What’s better than free stuff ? Not much. And luckily, there’s a ton of free attractions at the Rice County Fair. It’s all over the place, too — in different fair buildings, on the Legacy Stage, the Midway Stage and the Cannon Stage. On Tuesday evening, after you watch the flag rising kick off the fair at 5:30 p.m. near the flag pole, check out the Jivin Ivan Band on the Legacy Stage at 7 p.m. Not far away at the same time will be the Rice County Fair Queen Coronation on the Midway Stage. On Wednesday, watch three different age groups compete in the Kids Spelling Bee (and test yourself, too) at 1 p.m. on the Cannon Stage and check out some music later. The Brad Boice Elvis Tribute Show is on the Midway Stage at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., and the Mi Teierra Mariachi Band will perform at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the Legacy Stage. There’s also a Salsa Contest and a Kids Pedal Tractor Pull going on that evening. On Thursday you can watch Jerry Hatfield on the Midway Stage at 2 p.m. — an hour after the Senior Spelling Bee — and
Win big at the fair: Giveaways
Paying to park a vehicle at the Rice County Fair could pay off in a sweet way, literally. All fairgoers who park will have the opportunity to sign their paid parking pass and be entered into a drawing that includes a plethora of prizes. Daily prizes include cash drawings, but each day two will be selected to be entered for a grand prize drawing to take place at the fair’s end on Sunday, July 20. One of those grand prizes happens to a year’s supply of cupcakes. And not just any cupcakes, Northfield’s Cakewalk will supply one lucky winner with one dozen cupcakes a month for twelve months. “We wanted to do something in the fair...we thought this would be a good way” said CakeWalk’s Jody Breathwaite. Breathwaite and Tera Myers are co-owners of the custom cake and dessert bar located on Division Street in
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auction will kick off at 9:15 a.m. in the judging area. The afternoon and evening will see the Minnesota State Suffolk Show at 2 p.m. and the 4-H Premier Showmanship at 7 p.m. Sunday, the final day of the fair, will boast the most livestock action. An open class dairy goat show begins at 8 a.m. and is followed by several other shows, parades and contests throughout the day. For a complete list of livestock shows and contests, visit ricecountyfair.net.
Close your wallet: Free attractions
history, so every step represents a funny event in American history,” said local 4-H Full-O-Pep member David Rhoades, 10. “When we zip the zipper, it represents when General Picket led the largest charge in the Civil War with his fly open.” Teams that show their RGMs at their respective county fairs will be eligible to show them at the Minnesota State Fair. “It’s really hard to work with a group on this because there are all sorts of debates on if things can get done fast enough, what counts as a step and who will do what,” said Rhoades’ sister Emily, 13, who is also a Full-O-Pep member. “It’s also hard to keep everybody on the same page, because we have to keep everyone up to date on
what’s going on when they’re absent.” The team members range from fifth graders to ninth graders. Emily said she and her brother have debated on whether it made sense to send a duck down a binder in one step. “I wanted to do it but my brother didn’t so the compromise was to send it down on a train car instead of by itself,” she said. “I think it worked out better that way.” David said they ended up replacing about half the steps once they started building their RGM. The team will present their contraption at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 17, at the 4-H food stand.
A good mix: Music
New to the fair this year is Legacy Stage, which was built to promote arts and culture, and to celebrate the diversity in Rice County. Rice County Fair manager, John Dvorak said with the two stages this year there will be more live music. “Besides a couple bands, the majority of the bands playing on the Midway Stage are returners, but the majority of the artists playing on the Legacy Stage are new,” he said. Dvorak said some of the highlights for this year’s fair are Whitesidewalls, the Brad
Boice Elvis Tribute, and the Long Time Gone band including Faribault’s Dr. Michael Hildenbrandt. He added that they will feature a team night on stage this year; a team Christian rock band called Breakthrough which includes members of the Medin family, out of Nerstrand. Dennis Blackmer, who assisted Dvorak with the music performances, said they will have several new artists who will play on the Legacy Stage. “We will have German, Czech, Swiss, and African-American artists,” he said.
To go with the theme of promoting arts and culture, he said there will be demonstrations in between shows in the gazebo next to Legacy Stage. “On Saturday there will be an all based Irish festival featuring three Irish bands, and demonstrations on Irish musical instruments,” he said. The legacy stage will also feature Mi Teierra, a seven piece mariachi band from the Twin Cities. For a full list of the music performances, dates, stages, and times, visit the fair website.
urday is packed from 11 a.m. to nearly midnight. There’s the Herringbone Badgers Band, an Apple Pie Contest, the Legacy Band, the Forty Shades of Green Band, the Christian Rock Band and even karaoke to take in. There’s even more to see, so for a complete list of free stage entertainment and contests visit ricecountyfair.net.
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The right moves: Talent contest
America’s got talent — and so does Rice County. It will be on full display at the Rice County Fair Amateur Talent Contest, which begins at noon on Sunday, July 20, at the fairgrounds. Although this year’s acts were not yet finalized when this article was written, the talent contest in past years has had everything from the conventional (singers, dancers) to the more unique (a yo-yo performance). The winner of the event, which falls in line with Minnesota State Fair’s rules and guidelines, will represent Rice County at the Minnesota State Fair Talent Contest (and will also be asked to perform at the Fair Board Volunteer Dinner). The event is split into three divisions: Pre-teen (ages 12 and younger), teen (ages 13 through 18) and open (any age). People from outside Rice County are allowed to perform. There are usually about 10 acts in each division, and each act has a four-minute time limit. Cash prizes will be given to first-, second- and thirdplace winners in each division, and, for the first time, a trophy will be awarded to the first-place performers. However, first-place winners will be given cash prizes only if they represent Rice County at the Minnesota State Fair. Organizers try to rotate in new judges, and this year three new volunteers will judge the event, which is expected to run until about 3 p.m. Spectators can come and go. The entry fee for the event, which is being sponsored by LaCanne’s Marine in Faribault, is $5 for each single act and $10 per group act. The registration deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, July 14. Registration forms and more information are available online at www.ricecountyfair.net.