Fair fun includes sports

Football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, tennis, golf, these are the sports so many people in Havre and on the Hi-Line love dearly. They're also the sports that continue to be played the most, even during the summer months, when school is out.

However, for one week each July, those sports take a back seat to sporting events of a different kind – the kind that can only be found at county fairs in places like Havre.

And that week, the week where bucking horses and smashed-up cars become the focus for sports fans in Havre is now here, as the 2016 Great Northern Fair kicks off on Wednesday at the Great Northern Fairgrounds.

The sports action at the fair starts with three straight nights of rodeo, and opens with Wednesday night's Havre Junior Rodeo. The annual junior rodeo is one of the most well-attended nights of the entire fair as cowboys and cowgirls as young as five and as old as seniors in high school compete in a slew of evens. Of course, two of the big events the fans come out to see is the sheep riding for the youngest cowboys and cowgirls, as well as the steer riding for the high school age boys.

But, those aren't the only two events on the slate, and as always, fans of rodeo will be treated to an exciting night of junior rodeo. The annual Havre Junior Rodeo kicks off Wednesday night at 5 p.m.

Once the youngsters are done, the Great Northern Fairgrounds Arena becomes the spot for the pros. On Thursday and Friday night, the annual Great Northern Ram Rodeo will be held. There is a new twist on the rodeo this summer, as it's now an open rodeo. For many years, the Great Northern Rodeo has been either a PRCA or NRA sanctioned rodeo, but the 2016 Great Northern Rodeo is a completely open rodeo.

The event, which will have performances on Thursday and Friday night, as well as slack Friday morning, is open to all contestants who wish to enter, and it should feature a large contingent of local cowboys and cowgirls competing in all of the traditional pro rodeo events.

Finally, the fair will end its run of sports, as always, with the annual Jaycees Demolition Derby on Saturday night inside the Great Northern Fairgrounds Arena. The demo derby is one of the highlights of the fair every year, and will feature several heats of preliminary competition, as well as a herby derby and championship and consolation heats as well.

The 2016 Jaycees Demolition Derby starts with the Bump-N-Run races at 3 p.m. with the demo derby itself starting immediately after.

And once again, all the sports action at the 2016 Great Northern Fair begins with Wednesday night's Havre Junior Rodeo, which will get underway at 5 p.m. at the Great Northern Fairgrounds Arena.