County fair numbers up across the board

No matter who you ask, from fair board members to exhibitors to carnival attendees to out of town livestock show judges, the 2025 Hamilton County Fair was a rousing success! Numbers were up across the board for attendance, livestock and other exhibits and for the first time, finding parking even became a problem during some time periods. 
Fair board member Jeremy Brandt reported to the county commissioners at their Monday meeting that everyone seemed happy with the crowd sizes including the D.C. Lynch Carnival people who saw high numbers of riders every night. 
Brandt, who helps operate the Ag Society’s food concession in the Farr Building, said he had purchased the same amount of food as last year, but by Sunday 6 o’clock night he was starting to run out of things. Even the higher temperatures on Saturday afternoon and Sunday didn’t seem to affect crowd sizes too much, he said. 
While livestock numbers have been dwindling at some county fairs around the region, numbers were up for all species this year in Hamilton County. Swine show superintendent Duane Danielson said this year’s show had the highest number of entries in the last 10 years, creating a challenge in finding room for all the pigs. In fact, the fair board is looking at ways to add more pens for the 2026 fair. The show began promptly at 8 a.m. and didn’t wrap up until almost 1 p.m. because of the sheer numbers of hogs that moved through the ring. 
Meanwhile, The number and quality of beef was up at this year’s beef show as well, with the beef barn filled to capacity and the arena seating area expanded to handle a large crowd.
Those who showed up weren’t disappointed, as the weather was cooler than expected with temps in the low 80s throughout the five-hour show, and the action flowed steadily covering a long list of entries. Judge Caleb Durheim was impressed with what he saw both inside the arena and beyond.
“Really good cattle, really good kids,” Durheim said when asked for his impressions of this year’s beef show. “You can tell that they put in a lot of work at home. Something I thought was really cool is that they were able to have more cattle bred and fed here than what there were from outside the county, and I think that speaks to the quality of ag here in Hamilton County that they were able to have that many quality steers born here.”

More kids and critters
Numbers were up for all 4-H entries, which made for a busy week of activities for kids, critters and everyone involved.
Emily Soll, Extension educator for Hamilton County, paused to reflect after Friday’s beef show and said it is rewarding, though a whole lot of work, to see so many kids involved.
“We have seen an increase in our numbers, which means our youth have been at home working hard on their projects,” Soll said. “They’ve been spilling into their passions and their sparks, and it’s clearly showing here in the ring, which is really awesome to see.”
Citing the 4-H entry totals, for example, Soll reported that approximately 1,100 critters and exhibits were on display last year, compared to more than 2,300 this year.
“Both,” Soll replied, when asked if the rising numbers represented more kids involved or more critters per kid. “We have seen a growth in the Hamilton County 4-H program because we’ve been intentional about our recruiting process and we’ve had families recruiting as well as our office,” she said. “And so we’ve seen a growth in membership, but we’ve also seen a growth in projects or exhibits per kid.”
That upward trend, she said, is also a reflection of a community that supports agriculture in general.
“It shows that what we do in the community really has an impact on these kids right here in Hamilton County,” Soll said. “So it is absolutely rewarding to see that. It also makes for a busy week.”
Not long after Soll wrapped up her duties in Hamilton County, she headed north to do it all again in Central City, where the Merrick County Fair unfolds this week.
“I’ll start again on Saturday, so this is definitely a very busy time,” she said. “It’s supposed to be really hot this next week, so I’m a little bit worried about the heat factor there.”
Carrie Siebke and her husband Mark were among the spectators at Friday’s beef show, which by the way drew a large crowd of spectators on what turned out to be a relatively cool morning for kids and critters alike.
“Our son shows beef it’s kind of an end of the summer tradition,” Siebke said, while watching her grandson take a ride on Dumbo, one of the kiddie rides on the carnival. “I grew up showing in Valley County so I’m pretty familiar with it.”
Her husband Mark said he grew up showing small animals at the Merrick County Fair, so he too enjoys spending time at the fair.
“I’ve been coming to the fair since I was a kid,” he said. “It’s one of the best family things we have, I guess.”

Reesons to celebrate
While they were enjoying lunch in the coolness of the 4-H Building after participating in a marathon 4-H and FFA swine show on Saturday, ANR staff spoke to Laura Reeson and her daughter Avery about this year’s fair. Both Avery and her brother, Quinn had won numerous ribbons in the show which has been a family tradition for several years. Laura said the fair is definitely a big part of the family’s summer. 
“They work a lot all summer,” she said. “And yeah, it kind of comes very quickly, and then it’s over, but it’s fun. Then they start thinking about state fair. We go to the state fair, and then think about next year.”
She said the tradition started when older brother Cooper turned 8 and could join 4-H. Avery and Quinn followed as soon as they were of age.  
“Quinn was coming to watch them when he was 1,” Laura said, “And so it took forever for him to actually be able to show but he was excited when he could.” 
Asked to name her favorite part of the fair, Giltner High School senior Avery replied, “I’d say my favorite part of the fair is probably just being able to show my pigs and stuff... We work all summer and even all winter to get them ready. So being able to bring them here and show our hard work is really rewarding.” 
“We really liked the judge,” Laura continued, adding that she enjoyed listening to swine judge Tyler Runge’s comments and critiques. “I feel like every year swine judges always do good job. There were also a lot of pigs and that was awesome.”
“We’ve had a little bit less numbers the past few years,” Avery said. “So it was fun having a lot of competition and a lot of people here this year for the pig show.”

Back in the show ring
Jared Sullivan has been a fixture at the show arena animal entry gate for the sheep and goat show for close to a decade now.
He’s spent quite a bit of time in there, whether it was showing his own animals for the Hamilton County Fair back in the day, to now volunteering as the superintendent for the Thursday combination show.
For him, giving back to something that provided him with such a unique and fun opportunity as a youth is what brings him back every year.
“The big thing for me is back when I was showing, there were always those people around,” Sullivan said following Thursday’s sheep and goat show at the fairgrounds. “I just wanted to give back in that same way and keep that positive experience.”
On Thursday, just as he has ever since hanging up his showing boots a few years back, Sullivan was there to provide a helpful hand to the next generation of kids beaming with pride over their sheep and goats. His responsibilities include everything from giving that extra encouragement into the show ring to making sure everything stays relatively on time. 
Mainly, Sullivan wants to provide an experience like he remembers all those years ago when he was pulling his animals into the arena. 
“I always enjoyed the fair and want to make it the same way for all these kids. That’s a big thing for me,” Sullivan said. “I enjoyed being out here and showing my animals, getting them ready.”

Family fun times
For many children, the Hamilton County Fair is an exciting opportunity to showcase their animals and the skills they have learned in 4-H. And Carissa Phillips, a member of the Hamilton County 4-H Council, said 4-H continues to be an exciting time for her three girls, Taylin and Traelee and first year 4-H Clover Kid, Tryndal. 
“Our girls are really excited to be part of 4-H and it’s such a great learning experience for them,” Phillips said. “They learn skills that they’re going to be using for the rest of their life.”
Last week, the Phillips girls participated in the dog show and the companion show, where they showed off a hamster and a bearded dragon. They also showcased their skills in the fashion show, as well as in the competitions for favorite foods and home environments.
“They’re really great artists,”  Phillips said. “They have done a lot of artwork and that kind of thing in a home environment.” 
After having a fun time at the 4-H competitions, the family looked forward to seeing what else the county fair had to offer.
“We love just being able to walk around the fairgrounds,” Phillips said. “We’re helping with the 4-H food stand, which is great. Then we’ll go down the Midway and enjoy the carnival as well.”
Another family having a joyful time at the Hamilton County Fair was the Yockeys, who had brought their bucket calves to the county fair for the first time.
“We have had a lot of fun, mom Paige Yockey said. “The kids enjoyed showing their calves and they like going to see what their ribbons are and what everybody else creates,” 
During their Sunday afternoon visit to the fair, Paige and Tom Yockey and their five children, had a blast participating in the Hamilton County Fair Tractor Pull, in which daughter Blayke place first among girls in the 9-year -old division. Meanwhile, son Jase placed second for the boys in the 6-year-old division. 
Mom and dad also took a turn at pedaling the tractor in the adult division of the tractor pull.
“It was fun,” Paige said. “It was a good laugh for us and the kids.”

A fair assessment
The fair wasn’t quite over yet late Monday morning for Ag Society Treasurer Christina Dose, who serves as a spokesperson for the fair board. ANR caught up with her as she and other members of the board were back out at the fairgrounds cleaning up and reorganizing. She said it may be Wednesday before they are finished, partly because the big tent under which some of the entertainment takes place doesn’t come down right away. 
“It was amazing,” Dose said of this year’s fair as she looked back over the last several days. “The weather, except for Sunday, was beautiful. We had a lot of people, it was more of a constant showing up instead of in waves, so it kept everything busy and moving. Sunday was a little slow, just because of the heat, but the rest of time we had great numbers and great people, and they just showed up and had a great time, very few problems.”  
Dose said because of the temperatures in the 90s on Sunday, livestock was released early and all of the animals were cleared out by 1 o’clock in the afternoon. 
“All of them took advantage and got out before it was miserably hot, and then came back,” Dose said. “A lot of them came back and helped clean up because they were so grateful, and got their projects, and it worked, really, really well.”
Dose said she and the rest of the board were extremely grateful for the help of all those who volunteered their help.
“Honestly, I thought it was crazy awesome last year, but this year those 4-H and FFA kids went and above and beyond the call of duty helping us out. And we just cannot thank those kids enough.”
With larger numbers of people came more cars, and Dose echoed Brandt’s words about parking issues that developed during certain times. Sometimes cars were parked in rows of three, meaning the cars in the middle row couldn’t get out until other cars were moved. 
“We have never seen people park like this before, so we’re not 100 percent sure what we’re gonna do, but we are going to mark parking a little bit different next year,” she said. “We just haven’t figured it out and we talked about it in our ‘end of fair’ meeting last night. We’re getting some plans together and figuring it out, maybe some more parking attendants, or asking other people to help out. But we’ve never had that issue before, and we were kind of blown away by it.”
One event for which the crowd size was unexpectedly small was the concert by country music star Aaron Tippin on Friday night, but Dose was upbeat about the event. 
“It wasn’t as high as we wanted, but it was such a good crowd, and he put on such a good show that everybody had such a good time,” Dose said. “Honestly, it was perfect. It worked out great. There’s nothing bad you can say about it.”
Dose also commented that the high attendance and participation for most parts of the fair are remarkable because of the number of competing events going on the same weekend.
“If you go to the state fair’s social media page, they’ve been posting each week who’s having fairs,” Dose said. “And if you look at the week of our fair, probably a third of Nebraska’s counties are having a fair weekend. So we knew what we were up against, so we weren’t surprised, a little disappointed, but the whole rest of the fair made up for it, and it was such a good time. He put on an amazing show.”
Even as she was helping clean up after the county fair, Dose remarked that fairground events are not over for the summer. She noted that some of the motor sports that were noticeably missing from this year’s fair will be taking place in a few weeks. “Friday, the 15th of August is the Nebraska Figure 8 State Championship,” she said. “And then Saturday is trailer races.”
As with many fair participants, the fair is a family project for the Dose family as well. Christina and her husband, Justin are both active volunteers, sons Deven and Eric both participated and won ribbons in the swine show and their younger brother, Brock, 3, did peewee showmanship for hogs, cattle and rabbits.  
“From a mom standpoint, it’s kind of hard to separate, but my husband said that in the livestock barns this year, everybody was just so chill and it was relaxing,” she said. “The judges this year for the shows made sure that they were on point –  quick, but thorough – and they got the shows done, and it was efficient, and the animals didn’t get hot... and just great judges. That was awesome. We had a blast. We showed our pigs, and the boys had so much fun and made so many projects, to put in Ag Hall. We just love the fair. You couldn’t do all that our family does without loving it truly and deeply, so it was amazing! We had a blast. I mean, the kids are tired, just like mom and dad, but happy. It’s not crazy tired, it’s happy tired.”

See more photos from the fair on pages 6 & 7 of this week's print and e-editions, and check out dozens more fair pictures by clicking the "Photo" tab at the top of the AuroraNewsRegister.com website.