Fair sees attendance, exhibitor boost

Organizers of last week’s 2024 Hamilton County Fair say they are extremely pleased with this year’s event -- everything from crowd sizes to numbers of entries in shows to the more moderate temperatures as compared to last year’s fair week. 
“We are still tallying final numbers, but we are estimating probably around 22- to 23-hundred for the trailer races, and that would include all the grandstand seating with the new bleachers that the city donated, as well as all of the pit bleacher seating as well,” Ag Society President Justin Hermanson reported Monday morning. “So it was a tremendous turnout for the trailer races, and our preliminary estimate for the concert was 850, based on what we had pre-sale. We’re tallying all those up and that would obviously be a pretty big increase over last year, so overall, we couldn’t be more pleased with the numbers!”
Asked whether the large numbers of fans turning out for the trailer races created a standing-room-only situation, Hermanson responded, “For the first time in recent years we kept selling tickets right into the start of the race and we had plenty of seating. We didn’t have to turn anybody away and didn’t have any complaints or issues with people not being able to find a place to sit. All that additional bleacher seating really came in as a huge benefit and helped us out.”
As for Thursday’s demolition derby, Hermanson said numbers were also up in both attendance and the number of cars entered. 
“We have a three year contract with the promoter for the demo derby, so we will be having that again next year,” he said. “The promoter for that is great to work with. They help make our job easier as a host, and we’re looking forward to continuing to be part of their points circuit and bringing in plenty of fans to help support that.”
Hermanson said in talking to people as they came through the gates for various events, he got the sense that many attendees were from outside Hamilton County.
“I heard a number of people talking about coming from neighboring towns, neighboring counties,” he said. “And so that was really good to see that we’re getting additional support outside of the county for these events.”
The fair’s livestock shows also saw a jump in the number of entries, according to Hermanson.
“According to FFA and 4-H the numbers were super high this year, but we did have room,” he said. “We had to set up some extra paneling and fencing out there, but we had room for everybody. And it sounds like everything out there went very smoothly. Everyone was happy. The kids did a great job showing their animals and it was just overall success down at the barns as well.”
While many fair results were still being tabulated as of Monday afternoon, Hamilton County Extension Office Manager Victoria Jensen did say there were a total of 1,643 entries across all categories by 200 exhibitors this year, which was an increase over last year. 
Hermanson said a newcomer to the fair, Edgerton Explorit Center, was a hit with parents and children at Sunday’s Family Day.
“That turned out extremely well,” he said. “They brought out their foam machine and between watching it and getting feedback from people who experienced their educational exhibits, everyone was very pleased, and that seemed to be something that went over very well. We will be looking forward to trying to work with them in the future for setup on Family Day.”
And, while he said he couldn’t speak officially without input from the full Ag Society Board, Hermanson said he expects the fair will again build on the success of the various special events in future fairs. 
“Based on everything that was a success this year, from the motor sports to the concert, we would definitely like to look at continuing down that path for both, to continue to be a venue that people recognize as a good place to come catch a motor sports event or concert, and continue to grow both,” he said.  
The moderate temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s were a welcome relief for fairgoers and exhibitors as well after last year’s heat wave, according to Hermanson. 
“Even talking to the DC Lynch Carnival people, they said they were happy with the numbers and certainly with temperatures in those high 80s, low 90s that didn’t keep people from coming out and riding rides and watching events,” he said. “So both the carnival and Ag Society, we’re very pleased that we got a break from the super heat.”

4-H families all in
Like many 4-H and FFA families, the Mickeys -- Clint, Barbie and their children -- spent several days at the fairgrounds, up early and staying late, showing and caring for their animals. 
“The Hamilton County Fair is our favorite end-of-summer activity, and 4-H is by far our favorite family event,” said Barbie, standing on the midway Saturday evening watching her children ride the rides. “We’re proud to be here, and we just had a great time in 2024.”
The kids and their parents were tired, Barbie admitted, though the whole family seems to find an extra gear when it comes time for the county fair.
“It’s a lot, but we’re up for it,” she said. ‘This is kind of the highlight, absolutely. Our girls have gotten to where they raise their own animals, from moms to breeding and babies and everything, so they’ve been involved and it’s been building for the last couple of years to where they are. For them to get to bring what they have worked so hard on is exciting.”
Showing 4-H animals was a first for the Reiken family, but it won’t be the last.
“Well, this is our first year participating with having livestock for our daughter, so this is new for us,” said Megan Reiken. “We didn’t grow up here, so this is exciting for us to build within our community, build a foundation for our kids and our family.”
Reiken said her family has lived in Aurora for seven years and is just now starting to get involved in various ways, including 4-H.
“Last year we had a couple static exhibits, and this year we moved into having a bucket calf,” shown by 6-year-old daughter, Hartley. “My husband (Jeremiah) grew up doing 4-H in Polk County, but for me this was completely new. This was exciting for him to get back in on that side of it and it was exciting for to watch her do this, for her to participate in this side of it.”

A family tradition
Lindsay Hengelfelt of Lincoln was braiding her niece Autry’s long blond hair under a pop-up shade set up between the beef barn and the show arena building on Saturday morning. She was surrounded by lawn chairs, tables and other items forming a temporary headquarters for two families during the fair. Nearby was her sister-in-law, Sarah Person of Hordville, and the women’s six daughters, all of whom were participating in various fair activities. 
Hengelfelt, who grew up near Hordville, said her children have been showing at the fair the past six or seven years. This year the two families were showing beef, broiler chickens, flowers, baked products and other open class exhibits. Person’s daugters are Autry, Jolie and Sadie and Hengelfelt’s daughters are Maddie, Callie and Avery. 
“These girls are all fourth-generation Busy Beavers 4-H Club members,” Hengelfelt said. “So their grandpa, their great grandpa, me and my brother and they are all members.” 
Done with their shows for the week, the families were preparing to attend the 4-H and FFA premium livestock auction that afternoon as they had both beef and broiler chickens that would go on the auction block.  
Asked to state her favorite part of the fair, Person responded by saying, “I think probably just hanging out like this, getting some together time with people we don’t see all the time.”
Hengelfelt said, “Hallie and Autry like to work in the 4-H food stand; they always look forward to that.” 
Sarah Jensen of Hampton was resting for a few minutes in the beef barn with two of her daughters when ANR staff caught up with her on Saturday. Just minutes earlier she had been busy taking pictures of the contestants in the FFA/4-H swine show. (You can read more about that in this week’s lead story in the ANR Ag Life Section.) 
The day before she had helped her daughter Aislynn show six head of cattle in the beef show — two heifers and four feeder calves. 
Although she grew up in Hamilton County and has been attending the fair longer than she was willing to say, (“If I tell you how long that would tell you how old I am!”) she has only been involved in its shows for the past 14 years helping her children mostly show beef cattle. 
She said the kids initially started as Clover Kids when their cousins were participating in 4-H and FFA showmanship. 
“They showed with them and then we kind of started doing it on their own and here we are,” she said. 
Asked to tell her favorite aspect of the fair, Jensen responded, “I like that it is well-supported by the community, especially the livestock shows. There are always big crowds. The beef show is probably the biggest, but everybody comes out. It’s just fun to see the crowd of people who come, including those who don’t even know anybody showing or don’t have family showing. They just come to watch and see all the animals. And I love it when the kids and families walk through here and ask questions and they want to see the cattle and pet them and ask all kinds of questions.”

Bitten by animal show bug
Evan Pankoke remembers the first time he strutted through the Hamilton County show ring a decade ago. More specifically, the recent Hampton graduate remembers the feeling of earning his first reserve champion honor that day.
“I was 8 years old and I had a little bucket calf,” Pankoke recalled outside the barn. “I spent everything I could at the time and worked my butt off. I got in the ring and my calf was a little stubborn and I was disappointed. The ring judge helped me and I got reserve champion. All that hard work paid off.”
Fast forward, Pankoke is still quite involved with the Hamilton County beef show, having served as president of Hampton’s FFA chapter. He’s also watched and lent a hand as his younger siblings have followed in similar footsteps. 
As he explained, showing animals at the fair was a bug he caught that sucked him right in.
“It’s hard to describe. It gives you a feeling,” Pankoke said. “Once the bug bites you, you have to keep doing it.”
Pankoke said he’s learned a ton about himself and work ethic through his show cattle at the fair. 
It’s given him a boost of confidence in a way he’s carried through multiple other things, like sports and school.
“It makes you work hard and that carries over to everything,” Pankoke noted. “I’ve gotten a really good work ethic through this and also picked up some networking skills.”
Pankoke will be able to show one final time in 2025, a bittersweet moment for sure. For him, he goes back quite a bit to winning that first award and the feeling that moment brought.
“I can’t even describe it,” he said. “It just goes to show that hard work pays off. It makes you want to work harder the next year and keep going.”

Business exhibitors
Mari Acosta brought her small business, K.L. Momma, to the Hamilton County Fair for the first time. She sells an array of things including build-your-own pens and car diffusers.
“This is my first year coming to the fair,” Acosta said. “I do the craft events that have been here before so I’m familiar, and people here are always really nice. They always ask me to come back, so I come back. I just like coming back because people like me. I love it!”
Dennis Douty of Seward set up a table at the Hamilton County Fair selling handmade wood engravings. His wife, Carol Douty, was selling Juice Plus in the stall right next to his. He said that after being her chauffeur for years while she attended fairs, he decided to start selling, too.
“We thought the Seward County Fair was really, really good until we came here,” he said. “Seward has a lot to learn about Hamilton County. What really impressed me about this is how the community supports the 4-H and FFA.”

An overseas perspective
Christina Dose and her family had prominent roles at the Hamilton County Fair this year. Ranging from her children, Eric and Deven’s participation in the 4-H show and her own role as treasurer of the Hamilton County Ag Society, the county fair is always a busy yet exciting time for the family. 
“My oldest started right when he was 6 in Clover Kids and we’ve just kept growing and getting more and more projects,” Dose said. “It’s busy, but we love it and we want to do more, but we run out of time.”
Dose noted that preparation for the fair “has gone extremely smooth” in thanks to the support by all of the participants.
“We had a ton of help Saturday with all the 4-H kids and volunteers coming out,” she stated. “We got all set up Saturday, and almost everything was set up by noon.”
Following the 4-H awards and cake auction Thursday night, the family was eager to watch the demolition derby, then spent the majority of the day Friday participating in the beef show. 
Dose expressed her thanks to the students and volunteers who helped make the 2024 Hamilton County Fair possible.
“All of the 4-H and FFA kids have really helped set up and everything,” she said. “So we can’t thank them enough.”
While several fair-goers arrived at the fairgrounds from Aurora or other communities in Hamilton and surrounding counties, some came from other parts of the world. 
Maros (Mo) Pristas of Spain and Patricia Paranabas of Denmark were highlighted during the demolition derby and trailer races respectively for having traveled the farthest to attend the Hamilton County Fair.
“I really liked the derby and the trailer races,” Paranabas said. “And I’m excited for the concert (Saturday). I went to one American concert, but this is going to be my second one.”
Paranabas had spent the summer visiting her host family two years after she became an exchange student at Aurora High School. 
“It’s so different from Europe,” she commented. “It’s just fun to be here and just experience all of it.
While not his first time in the United States, Pristas arrived from Spain as an exchange student and will be attending Aurora High School this fall. He joined Paranabas for his first year at the fair. 
While he expressed joy of getting $15 for traveling 5497 miles from his home country, he alongside Paranabas were amazed by the people attending.
“It’s people’s energy (here),” Pristas observed. “Europe people are dead on the inside.” 
They further complimented on how fair-goers were eager to show support for the events by wearing Hawaiian shirts for Friday night’s Jimmy Buffet Tribute.
“They have this Hawaiian theme and everybody’s dressed up and it’s amazing to see that,” Paranabas added.