Fair days in Park County

By TREVON MILLIARD Chronicle Staff Writer

Admission to the Park County Fair will be free this year, according to fair manager Kim Knutson.

“With the economy being the way it is, we want to promote people going to the fair,” she said.

The fair - which starts today and runs through Sunday at Livingston’s fairgrounds - usually costs $1 per day or $3 for four days, which isn’t much, Knutson said.

But people in for free adds up to thousands of dollars lost. Last year, about 3,500 people attended the fair.

To pick up the slack, the Park County Commission has agreed to kick in $2,000, and a few sponsors have stepped up to help, Knutson said.

But no matter what’s done, it’s always “pretty hard to make a profit in the fair business,” she said.

Besides building good will and offering free family entertainment, waiving the fee has the adding benefit of eliminating an enormous hassle, she said.

“It’s getting harder and harder to get gatekeepers to sit in the hot sun all day and take the tickets and the hassle from people,” she said.

Fairgoers will still have to pay entrance fees to see some events, such as the pig wrestling Saturday at 8 p.m. and the Ringling 5 concert Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and participate in things like the Wild West Carnival.

One of the free events will be the Interactive Game Experience. Rodney Bont, IGX tour manager based in Nashville, has trucked in two big-screen televisions and the most up-to-date video games on the market for PlayStation, Wii and Xbox 360.

“Wii Baseball is the greatest thing next to automobiles, kids are telling us,” Bont said.

“LEGO Star Wars” and the newly released “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith” are also big hits, he said.

Bont drives to fairs across the country offering free plays.

“I’ll leave here Saturday afternoon, hoping to be in Nashville by the time my fiancée gets home from work Monday morning,” he said.

The Park County Fair this year celebrates its 60th year, with new attractions constantly being added. This year’s new features include bingo, American Hunter, giant tryke racing and sumo wrestling, in which people don oversize padded costumes.

Many of the festivities have become annual events, such the rodeo, now in its 55th year, Knutson said.

This change to free general admittance may not be as permanent, Knutson said.

“We’ll just see how it works,” she said.

Trevon Milliard can be reached at tmilliard@dailychronicle.com or 582-2657.

INFO BOX

Sampling of Park County Fair highlights:

* Pie Contest: Judged by Park County Commission; today, 2 p.m., Exhibit Building

* 4-H and FFA Rodeo and Sundown Showdown: Today, 5 p.m., Arena.

* AirTime Inflatables: Including 25-foot climbing wall; Wednesday & Thursday, 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. in parking lot

* Ultimate Dessert Contest: Thursday, 2 p.m., Exhibit Building

* Ringling 5: Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Arena

* Cinnamon Roll Contest: Friday, 2 p.m.

* 4-H and FFA Livestock Sale: Friday, 6 p.m., Sale Barn

* Horse show: Saturday, 9 a.m.

* Cherry Pit Spitting Contest: Saturday, 11 a.m., Sale Barn

* Elk Bugling Contest: Saturday, noon, Sale Barn

* Pig Wrestling Contest: Saturday, 8 p.m., Arena

* Demolition Derby: Sunday, 1 p.m., Arena.

* Lou’s Travelling Zoo: Every day, starting at 10 a.m. in the Midway

* IGX Interactive Game Experience: Every day, starting at 10 a.m.

* Wild West Carnival: 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; noon to 8 p.m. Saturday; noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

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