Great Northern Fair revs to full gear Wednesday

The Great Northern Fair Wednesday will kick off five days of food, carnival rides, exhibits,4-H activities, rodeos, a truck pull, demolition derby and more.

For the second year, Dreamland Carnival Company out of Billings will provide 15 to 18 rides for children and adults.

Free entertainment this year will be provided by the Inflatable Fun Zone, a Bozeman company that will supply a kid’s zipline and several inflatable toys.

This year, the fair features three rodeos over the course of three nights. The Hi-Line Rodeo Association’s Junior Rodeo will be the featured entertainment Wednesday night at 5 p.m. Young cowboys and cowgirls will compete for first-prize belt buckles.

The Great Northern Ram Open Rodeo will take place 7 p.m Thursday.

Friday night at 6:30 p.m. a longhorn stampede will precede the Cody Four Colors Bull Riding Event at 7 p.m. The event is in honor of Four Colors, a 25-year-old bull rider who died in 2015.

A professional truck pull at 7 p.m. will provide Saturday night’s entertainment.

The Jaycees Demolition Derby will be on the last day of the fair at 5 p.m. This year the Bump ’n’ Run that has run in conjunction with the derby for several years will be replaced by a soccer derby.  

Entries for open class items including crafts, quilts, jam, artwork and other products started Monday. They resumed this morning at the Commercial Building and entries will be accepted until 7 p.m. tonight.

Interview evaluations also began for 4-H this morning.

Open class exhibits and the commercial building will open each day at noon Wednesday through Saturday.

Sunday open class exhibits will open at noon and close at 5 p.m.

As it is every year, the 4-H will be a central part of this year’s fair. The animal shows will begin Wednesday at 9 a.m. with the 4-H horse show. A 4-H animal weigh-in will take place from 7 to 9:30 a.m. The 4-H small animal show will take start at 2 p.m. Thursday.

A 4-H beef show and a dog show will take place at Friday 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.

Saturday there will be a 4-H swine show at 8 a.m. and a sheep show at 1 p.m. 4-H Round Robin Showmanship is scheduled for 3 p.m. People will setup for the 4-H Market sale at 5 p.m.

The 4-H Market sale will be Sunday at 1 p.m.

There is no charge for parking or admission to the fair.