Plumas-Sierra County Fair

Restrictions on where you can smoke are a fact of public life now. Most people are aware that smoking is not allowed in any barn or building on the fairgrounds. It definitely makes sense in our barns with all the straw and wood that's been drying for the past 70 years. There is no smoking in the food court or the grandstands. One area that had not been considered, until now, was the carnival. Several people, some smokers, noticed that little children came awfully close to getting burned by adults carrying their lit cigarettes at kid head level. Yeah, we see how that can be dangerous. It was brought before the Fair Board this past winter and the Board decided to prohibit smoking in the carnival area. The carnival operator has let us know his workers will respect that and be sure to take their smoke breaks away from the rides and public. Thanks to them.

So, where can you smoke on the fairgrounds? Certainly on the paved roads and any grassy area not specifically mentioned as a prohibited area. Will we have smoke police? No. We're counting on the kind of respect and consideration residents of Plumas and Sierra counties are known for. Other fairs have folks from the health department who will point out if someone is smoking in a non-smoking area and pass out patches, gum and pamphlets. Who knows, maybe we can get that together.

I talked with someone from the Marin County Fair where they completely banned smoking on the fairgrounds. They set up a tent just outside the fence for smokers. I suggested they felt ostracized and were probably upset. She reported just the opposite. I guess it turned into the party tent and was overflowing during the event. What do you think of that?

Planning for the Fair has been mostly bummer free, but alas, we had our first casualty. Our planned Paintball Tournament has been scrubbed. We couldn't get the logistics straightened out fast enough so we couldn't get the semi-pro teams lined up in time. But, we're not giving up on this one. It might be next year, but we really want to try this event out.

Other than that, everything else is in high gear! Trailer Choir ticket sales have moved into hyper drive, so get yours now! Just click on the entertainment tab above and you can purchase your tickets on line. Exhibit entries are pouring in as today is the deadline. You can still enter, but there is a stiff fee. You have until the end of the day, you can even drop them off in our drop box out front of our office in Quincy.

The music festival is almost cleaned up. Horse mastership this weekend, gymkhana next Saturday and the Fair August 11-15. It's like the countdown to the Super Bowl! Get your entries in before July 14, we want to see lots of entries.

As I sit if my office, I can hear the thumping of bass out on the fairgrounds. There are people of every shape and size, every age. Some are getting ridiculously sun burnt, most don't care. They're eating, drinking, dancing and singing. I'm sure they're doing other things as well, but for now, I'm content to look out the window and enjoy the show.

Amazing, simply amazing. These people know how to put on a show. It's like watching a machine put up tents, organizing space and people, and dealing with everyone and their uncle who says they know the organizers who will surely let them in for free. It costs money to put this on folks, and these people are making sure attendees get their money's worth. It doesn't do much good to call and ask us questions, all we know how to do is send people to the High Sierra website. So, sorry about that, but we've got a Fair to plan!

Just about 3 weeks before the deadline to get your entries into the fair. July 14 is the day to get your entry sheet to the Fair Office, or get it postmarked. Then we start entering all the data into our Blue Ribbon software that keeps track of everyone and the results of judging. That's the program that tells us who to send money to and for how much. You've got to love a competition that costs a couple of bucks to enter and pays a couple of bucks if you win. Obviously this is for fun and pride. Kind of refreshing when you hear about athletes getting paid 10's of millions of dollars for one year. I'll bet not a one of them could whip up a jar of jam or grow a petunia like Fred Surber.

Nature, and Fred Surber. Fred is the fellow responsible for all the beautiful flowers that you see every year on the fairgrounds and in planter boxes around the county. Of course, many people come out and volunteer to help do that planting. If you're interested, call the Fair Office at 283-6272.

Mother Nature is not to be outdone. With a little help from the weather, every tree has just about exploded with leaves and green. No wonder some one called these fairgrounds the "Cleanest and Greenest". It is absolutely gorgeous here, but we knew it would be.

As if roller derby and American Valley Speedway isn't enough, the Plumas Sierra County Fairgrounds now has Gymkhana! For those of you who don't know what it is, think relay races on horseback. It's a series of events that have rider and animal weave through poles, pick up  and drop off flags, run patterns and try to do it all FAST! Great to watch, and it's free. There is a series going on throughout the summer, the next one is July 17 at the horse arena. Consider coming down to watch this great event. It doesn't matter if you don't know anything about horses, it's just fun to watch. Thanks to all the riders that participated, we hope to see more of you next month.