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Great Northern Fair offers the full experience right out of the gate
Tallen Oats, from left, Tance HeavyRunner and Karlee Meyers throw pingpong balls at fishbowls while playing a carnival game at the Great Northern Fair Wednesday. After a few attempts, the friends did eventually land a ball in one of the fishbowls.
Margaret Scovel, right, hugs her son Gauge, 6, after he fell from a sheep and hurt his back during the Junior Rodeo at the Great Northern Fair Wednesday. After a brief period of crying, Gauge was back in good spirits and went on to compete in the boot race.
Jessey Harmon and Izzreal Villagomez, 10, both of Rudyard, throw their hands in the air while spinning on a carnival ride Wednesday at the Great Northern Fair. Harmon said he comes to the fair every year and that it's always a good time.
Khriz Gonzalez, 7, flies through the air on a ride Wednesday during the great Northern Fair.
Keaton Letang, 9 months, takes a look at a pair of hogs while attending his first-ever Great Northern Fair with his family Wednesday.
Jay Thomas of Fort Belknap, 12, sips on a frozen drink while watching his cousin in the Junior Rodeo during the Great Northern Fair Wednesday
Isabella Eakhoff, 4, falls off a sheep right out of the gate while Buzz Stiffarm attempts to catch her Wednesday during the Junior Rodeo at the Great Northern Fair.
Buzz Stiffarm, alongside other volunteers, herds sheep through a gate while preparing for the Junior Rodeo at the Great Northern Fair Wednesday
Junior Rodeo participants await their turn to get in the arena Wednesday at the Great Northern Fair.
The Great Northern Fair hit full steam Wednesday evening, and with it, so did the emotional ups and downs of fair season.
On the north end of the fairgrounds, half-packed rides were swinging people in circles, and attendees were trying their luck at a variety of game booths, all to the sound of country rock blasting from a ride near the 4-H Chuckwagon.
A variety of booths were serving up food - including teriyaki skewers, Rocky Mountain Hot Dogs and "the Viking" meatballs on a stick - to hundreds of people, and the beer garden was cracking open three-dollar beers for those old enough to partake.
While attendees familiarized themselves with this year's rides and attractions, the Junior Rodeo drew a modest crowd at the arena on the south end of the fairgrounds.
Children as young as 4 each took their turn riding sheep, tying goats and participating in a slew of rodeo events.
Many of the young rodeo participants experienced moments of fear while being lowered into a pen with animals three times their size, but the glory of riding a sheep or steer through the arena in front of hundreds of people eased most of their worries.
One participant, 6-year-old Gauge Scovel, took a spill off a sheep and climbed out of the arena visually pained. After a hug and some encouragement from his mother, Margaret Scovel, Gauge headed back out in the arena with a smile on his face to participate in the annual boot race - a competition in which barefoot children run across the arena, put their boots on, and race back to the start line.
Despite a brief period of rain in the early evening, the first day of the fair went off without a hitch, and conditions are looking favorable for the remainder of the weekend. Today will be blustery, however, as the National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement for north-central Montana.
"Windy conditions will continue over the Hi-Line area today," the statement reads. "Wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph are expected. Winds are then expected to diminish this evening. Those camping, recreating, boating on area lakes, and driving or towing high profile vehicles should take precautions for strong winds."
More activities will be featured at the fair today, including adult rodeo events all day, the 4-H small animal show at 2 p.m. and live music at the beer garden in the evening.
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