Fair week is over, and what a week it was! Actually, the Grant County Fair and Rodeo runs a little over a week, and it packs an amazing amount of fun into that relatively short time. From the ICA and Junior rodeos to the 4-H/FFA livestock shows and static displays, the food carts and merchandise vendors, the kids’ games and trampoline shows, the pie-baking competition and hot wing-eating contest, the parade and the concerts, this event has something for everybody to enjoy.

But I think the thing I enjoyed the most about my first experience of the Grant County Fair and Rodeo is just the way it brings people together. Wandering through the fairgrounds, I was struck by how often I saw small knots of people just standing around shooting the breeze. It was plain to see that these folks just enjoyed each other’s company — in part because they don’t get enough of it.

In a rural, agricultural community like Grant County, many people spend most of their time working on isolated farms and ranches, out on the range or deep in the forest. And anytime they get a chance to set down their work for a moment, gather in one place and catch up with old friends — well, that’s something worth celebrating.

In case you missed it, last week’s edition of the Blue Mountain Eagle was long on coverage of the Grant County Fair, including stories on the fair parade, Grand Marshals Gibb and Gary Gregg, the 4-H/FFA livestock auction and the Eddie Montgomery/Jesse Leigh concert. We also had a story on plans to put the pool bond back on the ballot in November and the latest expansion of the golf options at Silvies Valley Ranch.

We’ll have more about the fair in this week’s paper, including results of the 4-H/FFA shows and photos of your friends and neighbors enjoying themselves at the fairgrounds. We’ll also have stories about the outsized role the U.S. Forest Service plays in our economy, a visit to Prairie City by GOP gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan, and an effort to recall a local elected official. 

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