With just over one month until the 80th annual Navajo County Fair comes to life, the fair board is working to make sure everything is in order.
On Aug. 4, President Mike Mellor informed the fair board of some of the recent projects that have been completed in preparation for the fair.
“Jose (Villareal) has built a new building where the old jockey building was that will be used for small stock and to trim animals. I’d also like us to put some picnic tables there so visitors can relax in the shade, and enjoy the sights and sounds,” stated Mellor.
More sand has been put in the Junior Livestock show arena in order to build it up, but the big improvement, according to Mellor, is the sand replacement in the rodeo arena. It took three days for four men to remove the 524 tons of sand from the arena and replace it with new sand. The total cost for the project came to approximately $6,500. “It really looks nice. We wanted to do this last year, but we came up short of time when the fair came. I want to thank Navajo County and the people of the county for allowing us to do this and have the arena look this good,” noted Mellor, who added that the fair has received acclaim throughout the state for the condition of the grounds and the quality of the fair.
Tiffany Ashworth, grants administrator for Navajo County, informed the board that an application has been submitted to the Department of Housing for improvements to the fairgrounds. “Those funds have already been allocated to us. We just need to jump through the hoops in order to have them released to us,” stated Ashworth.
The fund amount will be just under $130,000, and is expected to be available after Oct. 1. Uses for the monies will include electrical improvements, arena lighting and an emergency PA (public address) system. In the meantime, Mellor reported that the electrical needs for this year’s fair have been addressed and will suffice until the improvements can be made.
The directors over the various events that will take place during the fair reported that everything is in place and ready.
The five-day long event, scheduled Sept. 14-18, will include all the old favorites such as carnival rides, the rodeo, a demolition derby, open class exhibits, food and entertainment. Additions this year include a mini-excavator/skid steer competition.
The entry fee has been increased this year to $4 for all ages, and entry to the demolition derby has been increased to $8 for adults and $4 for children, with children 6 and under attending for free.
The board is promoting pre-selling tickets to the fair in the hopes of getting greater attendance, especially from county residents who have never attended the fair before.
“Folks living in the south county will take a trip to Phoenix and not think twice, but don’t think about coming just down the road to the fair. If we get them to come one time, I guarantee they’ll come again,” stated Mellor.
He encouraged local groups or organizations to contact the fair office if they would be interested in earning funds for their organization by selling tickets at a profit of $2 per ticket. Interested parties can call (928) 524-4757 for more information.
