2010 Tillamook County Fair

The 2010 TILLAMOOK COUNTY FAIR closed on August 14th as the most successful Tillamook County Fair in history. Thursday’s attendance of 19,857 was a record for any fair day besides Saturday and total attendance of 74,202 fairgoers for the four days was also a record. The Tillamook County Fair Board chose "Fair Time is Fun Time" for their fair theme. They chose this theme because they know everyone attends the fair for a variety of reasons, but that having fun is usually at the top of their list.

The Fair Board increased the amount of entertainment for fairgoers to enjoy this year to make sure that "Fair Time was Fun Time" for everyone.

The Tillamook County Fair was recognized in the USA Today the week before the fair as one of the top ten Blue Ribbon Fairs in the nation to visit this year. This was a very big honor and couldn’t have come at a better time. The Tillamook County Fair was selected because it is so unique for offering so much entertainment for fairgoers to enjoy for free once they have paid their admission to enter the fair and because it is the home of the world famous Pig-N-Ford Races.

Free entertainment at the 2010 Tillamook County Fair offered something for everyone. As already mentioned, the very popular Pig-N-Ford Races celebrated their 86th year. These are the most amazing races and you have to see them to believe them. The Courtyard Stage provided local and paid talent from 10 am to 7:30 pm each day of the fair. Brad’s WORLD REPTILES had an interesting and well attended hands-on exhibit, plus they did two presentations daily on the Courtyard Stage. Balloon Artists Dr. Fun and Dr. Good provided hundreds of balloon creations for fairgoers to enjoy. Walk-around acts included Clown of Many Faces, Jeff Martin, the Blond Curly Haired Magician and Brothers From Different Mothers. Each of them also performed two shows daily on the Courtyard Stage as did Hypnotist, Tammy Barton. Gospel Sing held on Wednesday night filled the Courtyard to capacity again. Add the free grandstand shows of Country Artist Craig Morgan, Comedian Bill Engvall, Rock and Roll legend Eddie Money and a Demolition Derby and you can see why the Tillamook County Fair deserves such a recognition.

Tillamook County residents and landowners entered 3,465 exhibits in the Open Class Departments with Art and Textiles recording increases and Floral and Land Products recording large decreases due to the wet weather the two months prior to the fair. Overall, Open Class Exhibits were down 13%. 4-H/FFA programs continue to be a very big part of the fair and have such a presence in Tillamook County because of an outstanding Extension Service Staff, excellent FFA advisors and countless 4-H/FFA leaders. There were 2,030 4-H/FFA exhibits which were 2% more then last year. The Market Animal Sale reported $50,710.38 in sales. A total of ninety-six animals were sold. Special thanks need to go to the Junior Livestock Auction Committee for their hard work all year long to make the Market Animal Sale what it is today.

The 2010 Open Dairy Show had another quality show even though the number of dairy animals participating continues to be less then usual due to economic reasons. The Sue Durrer and Youth Dairy Barns housed 194 dairy animals which is still more than any other County Fair in Oregon. Both out of state judges remarked that the quality of the animals was like a National Show.

Haworth Family Shows provided the carnival again this year. Gross carnival sales of $186,696.50 were up 11% from last year. The "All You Can Ride" carnival coupons sold before the fair accounted for $96,825.00 and the $89,871.50 carnival sales on site was the highest ever recorded during the fair. Haworth Family Shows runs a clean family oriented carnival with rides that appeal to both young and old alike.

Pari-Mutuel Horse Racing ran all four days again this year. The total handle of $140,503.00 was down 6% and can also be tied to the state of the economy. Thanks need to go to the Oregon Racing Commission for providing purse money this year and continuing their bonus to the jockey’s and paying for photo finish services, the cost of the tote board and past performance information. Thanks also to the Averill, Jenck, Williams, Riggert, Peterson, Braden and Hubert families, Hudson Insurance, Bob Weitman, 1st National ATM and State Senator Betsy Johnson, Oregon HBPA and OTOBA for providing additional purse money for feature races each day. Total purse money for the thirty-three races was $79,000.00 which attracted a record number of horses and jockeys to participate in the Race Meet.

The Huckleberry Health Fair was held for the twenty-seventh time during the Tillamook County Fair and was well attended. This event is sponsored by the Tillamook County General Hospital and provides fairgoers with free blood pressure, colon cancer and glaucoma screenings and free foot massages. For a small fee, fairgoers could also receive cholesterol, bone density and hemoglobin screenings. This is a great service provided by the Tillamook County General Hospital and is not found in many other fairs throughout the nation.

The Fair Board extends their gratitude to everyone involved with this year's fair. A very big thank you goes out to everyone who helped, supported or participated in making the 2010 Tillamook County Fair a successful fair. The amount of community support and volunteerism was again unbelievable this year. "Fair Time was Fun Time" at the Tillamook County Fair because of this support.

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