Gogebic County Fair opens today

By TOM LAVENTURE

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Ironwood - The centennial Gogebic County Fair opens today and runs through Sunday in Ironwood.

K&M Amusement will provide the midway rides and carnival throughout all four days of the fair. The rides are included with a paid gate admission. There will also be horse drawn wagon rides throughout the fair.

Harness racing continues to be a fair tradition with trotters and pacers circling the half-mile track in events starting at 1 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday at the grandstand. There should be six to eight races each day in different classes, according to Myron Kauppi, race organizer.

The cornhole tournament will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday near the Turn 2 Saloon. Players can sign up to compete against other players from around the region.

"I think it's going to be a good social event to keep people busy at the fair and have a good time," said Brad Kusz, tournament organizer.

There are three days of horse events, starting at noon Friday with the youth classes and the Tiny Tot division. The youth division will follow with western, English, ranch classes, and games.

The open show starts a 9 a.m. Saturday with Tiny Tots, youth and adult riders competing for awards in halter, western, English, and ranch classes.

The Costume Freestyle Showmanship class is new this year with two divisions for Tiny Tots and for youth and adults, according to Diane Maccani, event organizer. Contestants will perform six required maneuvers and two of their choice in costume and with optional music.

The speed and gymkhana games start at 9 a.m. Sunday. Some of the games include the bareback ride-a-buck contest, the egg and spoon contest and the new toilet paper challenge.

The 4-H will have normal classes again along with the 4-H market animal auction, according to Ashley Dennis, the Gogebic County 4-H program coordinator. The Expo Building will showcase youth and adult exhibits with dozens of categories of food preservation, baking, arts and crafts, needlework and antiques.

The livestock weigh-in will be held Thursday and the kids will show their animals on Friday for the Saturday evening auction. The 4-H awards will be held in the Grandstand on Sunday afternoon.

"We have 19 youths that will be selling livestock," Dennis said. "We have six steers registered, 13 hogs, three lambs, two pens of turkeys and three pens of broilers. So come on out and see that on Saturday."

The 4-H staff and kids will also be helping out with the kids Fun Zone along with a 4-H kids activities table for all three days of the fair. The 4-H kids will also operate an ice cream booth.

The 4-H kids performed volunteered on projects to help the fair open this year, Dennis said. They removed brush around the fences and picked rocks off the horse track and arena. They also did some weeding around the fairgrounds and walked the grandstands to identify where there needed to be cleaning, painting or repairs done.

"They also worked on their livestock arena," Dennis said, noting that the kids did a variety of chores from cleaning the barns to painting the stalls and garbage cans.

John Balchik, 15, a member of the Gogebic County 4-H program, said people have been cooped up for over a year because of the pandemic. There is a sense of anticipation and excitement among the kids, he said.

"It's like we're preparing for a big party," Balchik said. "It feels like we're giving back to the community."

The Lake States Mud Racers event will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with member and non-member racers coming from around the region and locally to compete in a drag race style event in mud with 18 to 24 inch deep tracks. A pre-race meet and greet at 6 p.m. offers a chance to mingle with the drivers up close to their trucks.

There will be prizes and a raffle ride in an exhibition pass in some of the trucks. The nonprofit group will donate proceeds to the Gogebic County 4-H program.

Vicki's Petting Zoo is back and in a new location inside the Cattle Pavilion. It will be open throughout the fair, according to fair volunteer Vicki Nelson. The animals come from area farm families and will include a miniature horse with a four week old baby, a miniature donkey, pygmy goats, a llama, ducks and other animals.

The Chicken Bingo event will be held at 3 p.m. on each day of the fair. A chicken is allowed to wander in a homemade cage until they do their business onto a numbered floor beneath to win the ticket-holder a prize.

New this year is the Junk Hunt flea market style event with people selling handcrafted or third party manufactured and non-food products from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The Junk Hunt events have proved to be popular at other fairs and are being given a trial run here, according to Nelson.

The annual pie auction will be held on Sunday at noon on the small stage near the Expo Building. Pies will be auctioned off to the highest bidder with proceeds benefiting the fair.

The Small Stage entertainment starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, with Bethany Ann Hellen Studio and Ironwood Dance Company, followed by the Lake Effect Band at 7:30 p.m. On Friday, the entertainment continues with the accordion and polka music of Jim Favero at 1 p.m. Friday, followed by solo acoustic musician Mike Magee at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the Flashback Band will perform at 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, the Pie Auction starts at noon.

Grandstand events start on Friday with harness racing at 1 p.m., the Youth Challenge at 5 p.m., and Tom Katalin and the Highway 41 Band at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the grandstand features harness racing at 11 a.m., the tractor pull at 2 p.m., the Mud Racers Meet and Greet at 6 p.m., followed by the races at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, the Fair Awards Ceremony starts at 3 p.m. followed by lawn mower racing.

For a complete fair schedule and other information, visit gogebiccountyfair.com.