99th Phillips County Fair kicks off this Thursday in Dodson

For 98 years, the Phillips County Fair has been the go-to event as the summer wanes and the 99th installment of the longest contiguous running fair in Montana, loaded with live shows, 4-H exhibits, sporting events and vendors galore, looks to be another glorious event when it kicks off tomorrow in Dodson.

First up is entry day at the Fair for open class and 4-H entries. Entry starts at 10 a.m. -- the weigh scale will be from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.-- and for the rest of the entries have a deadline of 8 p.m.

Friday is the concert with Travis Panczak and the Rough Stock Band – see story above – with OK and the Runaway opening the show. OK and the Runaway features two local musicians – Malta’s Craig LaFond on drums and vocals and Vince Mace on playing bass and vocals – and the concert starts at 7 p.m.

Saturday will be the rodeo featuring stock from Duane Ozark and Shane Vyra. The duo has been supplying rodeo stock to the Phillips County Fair for the past several years. The rodeo gets underway at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Sunday will feature the truck and tractor pull starting at 1 p.m. and the AMX races starting at 5 p.m. Wilke said that there should be a large showing for the tractor pull on Sunday as the day before there is a tractor pull event in Chinook.

“They compete there and come to us on Sunday,” said Eric Wilke, Phillips County Fair Board member.

Wilke said that there is expected to be about 18 cars in the AMX races following the tractor pull.

The Free Stage will feature the Bad Larry’s and TC Hatter and Marcianne, each preforming daily at the Fair. The Bad Larrys -- Jay Aiken (Acoustic Guitar and Vocals) Chris Arndt (Stand Up Bass, Uke Bass, Electric Bass and Harmony) – are from Big Fork, Mont., and play Americana music with a twist.

A free play area for smaller children, near the 4-H booth, will be open during the fair featuring many games and activities.

“The Bad Larry’s do folk songs with humor added in and are very entertaining,” said Wilke.

TC Hatter and Marianne is a unique comedy duo that has been headlining fairs across the United States since 1981. The duo combines juggling, magic, music and pantomime to tell humorous stories that are all family friendly.

The Carnival is running Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Recently, a question about the Carnival not being held on Sunday was brought up. Over the years, the Fair Board received numerous requests to move the Fair back to its original start time which was the first full weekend of August. That request was granted this year, but along with that change another change had to be made as the Carnival attractions are packed away and shipped to Glasgow on Sunday for the Valley County Fair. To make up for the lack of Carnival on Sunday, the hours for the Carnival on Thursday have been extended, running from 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. in which all rides are $1. All-day ride tickets are available for purchase and are good valid from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m.

The bingo booth, run by the Coalition for Healthy Choices, will return to the fair this year and will feature children’s games for a portion of each day and adult bingo in the evenings.

There will also be a slew of food vendors on hand including Ray’s Chuck Wagon, DalRena’s, 4-H, FFA and the Boy Scouts of America.

The Phillips Transit Authority will be running free busses to the Fair all week long – courtesy of the Fair Board – to shuttle people back and forth from Malta to Dodson. To schedule a ride on the PTA, call 654-5301.

For schedules, entry information, events and more, check the Phillips County Fair website at phillipscountyfair.com and “like” the Fair’s Facebook page. For any further information contact one of these Fair Board members Eric Wilke, Berta Anderson, Billy Jaynes, Sue Olsen or Shane Anderson.

Wilke added that the Phillips County Fair Board would like to thank all sponsors for their continued support of the fair.