Fair week!

Fair week finally arrived! For all the planning and preparation you're never quite prepared for all the things that go wrong.

Monday's goal was getting everything out of the storage pod and setup. Thankfully, Don had his tractor/trailer there before I even arrived. We are lucky to have two storage containers (the pods) on site to store all the things we've got - and we've got a lot. Don shuttles volunteers over to the pod where they load it up and then the volunteers all walk back to unload it. We got lucky this year - a service missionary and his brother saw the service opportunity on JustServe and came to help. I was so grateful for them! I wondered if it was even worth posting about there, but having them come proved that it was.

All the Junior Fairboard members showed up shortly after 8am. It was so good to see them all at the fair. For a lot of them, it was the first time seeing what a massive event looks like on the backside. I hope we didn't scare them away with all the work. The Payson FFA group committed to bring 20 kids to assist with setup, but none of them showed up. It's always really sad when that happens. Thankfully, the competitive arts board members showed up, and some of them brought their kids. We were able to finish getting things setup just after 11am. It was a record. 

This year Fiesta Days was scheduled for the week before the fair. As a result, we weren't even sure if we would be able to setup any of the 4H tables/risers. It was a massive surprise when we were able to get into the building. The gal in charge of the 4H area was so excited! With all that help she was able to get most of her things setup on Monday instead of waiting until Tuesday. It's always nice to have more time to get setup than you need.   

There are a few large things at the fair that we don't have volunteers setup. Craig hires a company to setup the family fun tent/stage, entertainment tent/stage, kid game prize tent, and Scales and Tales tent. We literally couldn't have the success we do without this company coming. Craig also rents tables and chairs. We use the tables in the competitive arts/4H areas. The chairs we use in the dining tent. He also borrows a few tables from his neighbor to finish off the 4H area with a few leftover for the dining tent. This year his neighbor had round tables for the dining area. We didn't like them as much as the rectangle ones. So, we ended up ordering five 8' rectangle ones on Amazon. Thank goodness for next day delivery.  He told me he will order a few more 8' rectangle ones during the off season so we have our own table for the dining area.

We decided to use tablecloths in dining tent this year. It was a massive success. Last year we put tables in there as a last minute change, and the tables got so nasty. The tablecloths were cheap plastic ones, but they had elastic so they didn't blow off in the wind. It was perfect because we stacked 6 tablecloths on each table, and then the garbage people just took them off as needed. 

Speaking of garbage people.....we typically hire a Scout group to do all the garbage. But, we decided to do something different this year, and it worked out a lot better. We had Sunset Market (our 3rd party contractor for food/vendors) contract to do the garbage. It worked out a lot better, and they were able to keep up with the garbage. It was such a blessing! I heard zero complaints about garbage being picked up. Craig still hired the scout group - they just ended up cleaning up the garbage in the arena on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night. I don't think they came on Saturday night because the parents didn't want their kids working early Sunday morning. Garbage duty started for them around 10:30pm. 

While everyone was setting up things I was in the fair office setting up my things. I had brought all the volunteer shirts with me, plus all the other things I had bought for a successful fair. The Jr Fairboard asked me to buy lip balm. This is the kind I ended up getting. I wish I would have bought double this amount. The kids went through it so fast, and we ended up getting this other kind (twice) at Costco on our food runs, which ended up being more expensive. I hate spending money so much! 

There were a few other fun things that I did this year.....I decided to try out an information table. I got a "information" banner printed, printed out a bunch of things to tell people about, and then set the table in a visible spot where the most foot traffic was. I think it was beneficial enough that we will do it again next year. The most popular question was "how can I buy tickets for the monster trucks/demo derby". So, we taped a QR code to the table that people could just scan to buy tickets.

For the fun of it, I bought this little camera Lego set for the Jr Fairboard kids to put together while they were at the information table. They said it was a lot of fun, and I think it helped to promote the fair photo contest that we hosted this year. 

I also bought all the Jr Fairboard kids purple sunglasses, these purple bucket hats, and these glow in the dark bracelets. I also bought them purple cooling towels, but I couldn't get any of the Jr Fairboard members to use them. It was ok though because I ended up going out into the crowd and finding a few people that looked like they could use a cooling towel - one of which was Great Uncle John Misel, and my current ward RS President and her husband. You just never know who you will run into at such a large community event. 

I also ended up ordering this custom logo rubber stamp that we can use year after year. I bought a purple stamp pad, and the info. table volunteers were stamping little kids hands. I think it ended up a pretty cute thing. The best thing is I can just change ink pads to whatever our theme color is for the year.

The absolute best thing that I bought for the fair this year was a collapsible bucket. It came in handy so many times! I used it to wipe down surfaces in the fair office. I also used it to wipe off tables in the dining tent before we put on the tablecloths. It was also used when we had a throw up situation by the info table. I bought the bucket on Temu, so it was extremely cheap ($5). Hopefully it will last at least two years. 

Tuesday was the day that all the entries were delivered to the fair grounds. We had an morning option, and an evening option. So, the Jr Fairboard kids were required to come twice in one day. They were good sports about it. This day is fun because of all the fun things to see. I entered in 10 items (the max you can submit), and Craig submitted 2 items. It was super fun to participate this year, and from here on out I plan to always do it. I'm currently pondering projects I could make that would win me a "Best in Show". 

I am kicking myself that I didn't take more pictures at the fair. I had high hopes that I would have enough time during an early morning to wander in the competitive arts/4H areas all by myself to take pictures and enjoy. Sadly, it never happened. My mornings always started early. Then the one morning I planned to come later Craig needed me and I had to meet him at Ream's Grocery Store since I wasn't at the fair grounds yet. Whoopsie. These were the hours I put in during fair week: Monday (6), Tuesday (14.5), Wednesday (14.5), Thursday (14), Friday (13.5) Saturday (17), Monday the 3rd (4.75), Wednesday the 6th (5). Whew, a lot of hours. I was super tired, but adrenaline keep me constantly going. I have since spent a lot of time doing nothing, and taking afternoon naps. 

Speaking of pictures - here are the contest photo winners. It was enjoyable to reach out to each one of them on the phone to let them know they had won their prize. They were all pretty excited. Next year I'm making sure we have prizes that we can mail. It was one more extra thing to drive out and about to hand deliver prizes. Next year we are also going to take away the "Youth" category. We only had two photos that actually qualified in that category. Thankfully, all my judges said they would be willing to do it again. 

Food is the common denominator in happiness for our Fairboard, Jr Fairboard, and volunteers. This year we went overboard by making four separate trips to Costco. It was a bit much, and we had a lot of food left over. Next year, I'll be more organized with the things the kids actually eat vs. whatever looked good to the person making a food/water run. The one thing that we never skimp on is water. We went through 22 cases of water. That's what happens when you have multiple days in the 100's. If the public came searching for water we also freely shared The last thing we want is someone getting heat exhaustion. This year worked better than most because I used a third fridge in a different building to always keep at least two cases of water cold. The fridges in the fair office get opened up so often that the water doesn't have a chance to chill. 

One thing different we need to do next year is get more ear plugs. We ran out on Saturday night, and so many people were sad about it. One of the Jr Fairboard gals made these signs for us to put on each of the four boxes. I think they helped quite a bit. I'm thankful for the big rolling tech boxes we have to set these on at each ticket taking gate. Speaking of ticket taking - next year I'm going to have volunteers sign up for a specific portal gate. I think the more organized I can get it, the smoother things will go. 

On Saturday night we had everyone coming to pick up their entries. I got a text first thing in the morning saying that two of the Jr Fairboard kids would be willing to do parking, but they would only do it if they could have a golf cart. I was more than a little annoyed. We rent golf carts for the week, but there are used by 'important' people and I can never guarantee one will be available. Fun fact, I've never driven one. I much prefer walking - even if it's to the other side of the arena. To try and remedy the situation I asked/called/begged a few people to bring me down a pop up canopy. None of them were able/willing. As a last ditch effort I called one of my ministering brothers. He was more then willing to step in and buy me one. He even drove it down. Thank goodness for so many kind people

Speaking of kind people, I had a few of my good friends brave the heat and come down to volunteer. I'm so thankful for them! They said there was no way they would do it again, so I must have not done a very good job preparing them. Hahaha, actually I think it was just too hot for them. Maybe next year it will be unseasonably cold. 

I have a very long list of things that we/I want to improve for next year. But, overall this year was a massive success. The county commissioners (who fund part of the fair) were very pleased, so that's what matters. Here are a few random pictures and videos for your enjoyment. I'm already looking forward to (and planning) next year. Pink fair shirts anyone? JK, it's a running joke to have pink fair shirts. I don't think it will ever really happen. 

Craig - aka boss man.

The most important people at the fair get their own cushy chair. I am constantly kicking people out of these chairs if Craig/Don are in the fair office. It's a running joke. Also, a running joke is that if someone leaves an unfinished drink/food for less than 5 minutes Laurie Ann will throw it away. It's true. In order to keep the office clean/tidy I do throw a lot of unfinished stuff away. 

Cute Jr Fairboard kids......professional photos taken by Devin Pierce. He is on the competitive arts board. 

I have six Jr Fairboard receive their scholarships this year. It's so sad, but happy. I will need to find other amazing kids to replace them. Fingers crossed. They hate being presented in front of so many people, but it's good for them. Hehehehe. 

Lastly, here are all my ribbons. Not too bad for my first year submitting things. 

Actually one more picture - this lost and found bottle might just come home with me next year if no one claims it. It's a huge misting bottle. It would be amazing for Rex. We had a record number of eleven water bottles collected as lost and found. I guess water wasn't as important as I thought. 

I lied - here is the last one - 10 miles with jeans/boots/socks was not a good thing for my poor legs. They got this weird rash plus were swollen. It wasn't very fun. Maybe I can figure out a better way to wear shorts next year. So far I haven't mastered that skill.