2019 fair receives good reviews

With the sound of carnival rides and the smell of fried foods, the annual Great Northern Fair saw thousands of people strolling about the fairgrounds this weekend with several family friendly activities for visitors.

"Everything is so technology based these days, you know, getting out and getting fresh air and when we were growing up in the '80s and '90s this was all we had to do, this is what we had to look forward to," Jhaney Randles said.

The Great Northern Fair has made several improvements over the last year including working on paving and providing free internet at locations on the fairgrounds.

The Great Northern Fair Board also continued this year with its paid parking, charging visitors $5 a day to park on the fairgrounds or $20 for a prepaid ticket for the whole weekend.

Jhaney Randles, her son Zeke, and Daniel Baranyai were attending the fair together and agreed that, although the fair this year was small, they were still enjoying their time there. 

Jhaney Randles added that the Hill County community is small but it's still great to have an opportunity to get out and let the community have fun in a family friendly environment. 

"It's good for families," she said.

She said that they try to go to the fair every year, one of their traditions attending the Jaycees Demolition Derby, adding that it's fun to watch the cars crash into each other and see the community come together.

Zeke Randles added that his favorite part of the fair this year was the rides, either the Sizzler or the Yo-Yo. He said he also liked watching The Hockey Circus Show.

Baranyai said that they had just watched that show, a one-man performance where a man, who goes by the stage name All-Star Circus Performer Paz, juggles flaming hockey sticks.

Baranyai added that it was nice to have something different at the fair and he would like to see more in the future.

What's new

Paz said that he performed six shows throughout the weekend and had a great time with the people in the community. He added that the Great Northern Fair Board had contacted him at one of the conventions they had attended, and he thought it was a good opportunity, this being his first time performing in Montana.

"I thought it would be great," he said.

He added that he has been doing The Hockey Circus Show for almost six years out of his 25 years doing circus performances, and was rated by Buzzfeed as 19-out-of-21 most Canadian things people can see. Paz has also done performances with his company across the world.

"Not bad for an American," he said.

Paz has done a wide range of shows with his company, from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics to small fairs, like the Great Northern Fair, across the country. Originally from Los Angeles, Paz started as a professional tennis player before graduating from law school. After law school, he got involved with the circus and found for the first time he could be academic, athletic and artistic all at once, which eventually led him to move to Canada. He started the hockey show because of his love of hockey and wanting to do something people have never seen before, he said.

"For me, it doesn't matter, small or big, my reason for being here is the same," he said. "If I can take people out of the troubles in their life for a couple of minutes, then I think I've done my job and it makes me very happy."

He added that he would gladly come back to the Great Northern Fair. The crowds were terrific, he said, adding that he also would like to come back to Havre to check out the Havre Beneath the Streets exhibit.

"I love that kind of history," he said.

The Great Northern Fair was also unique to him, Paz said, with the fair focusing on the community more than anything else.

"I absolutely loved that all the clubs, the Lions Club, the Optimist Club and everything, that they were running the vendors stuff so that the money stays in the community," he said. "I think that's really, really awesome. I wish I could see more of that in the fair circuit."

He added that he wants people to know anything is possible and people who think outside-of-the-box are the ones who move society forward in a positive way.

"Thank you to the people of Havre. It was nice to be here, everyone was lovely," he said. "Keep supporting community events like this."

Fair board member Chelby Gooch said that the fair this year went really well, with the community largely supporting the event and the board being able to bring - for the first time in years - new free performances for the community, including the Backyard Barnyard animal races and entertainment.

"I think the community is coming together, knowing that it's still got some issues that need to be worked out, but I think the community now kind of realizes that, and they're supporting that a lot more," she said.

Board member Bobbie Dolphay said that they also arranged a free musical performance Saturday night, the State Line Drive Band from Kansas City.

She added that they found the band at a convention and asked them to play at the fair. 

Gooch said that the fair board hasn't before offered this many things to the community, and she is glad they were able to bring something new and fun for people. 

Something else new this year was a miniature motorized train which would drive people around the fairgrounds, Dolphay said. 

Gooch added that the train was found in storage and was broken down, but the Hill County 4-H worked to get it back in working condition so it could be used this year. Rides were offered for free, and people seemed to really enjoy that it was added to the festivities of the fair, she said.

She added that this year she has heard some minor complaints but overall people have been giving positive feedback, including on the parking fees. This year, people are more comfortable with the parking fees than before and understand more of the reason why the board is doing it. 

Parking fees and state of the fair

Cole Molyneaux of Havre and Rhiannan Ollinger of Browning were attending the fair Saturday and said that they were having a great time his, this year, which was the first time they were able to attend together since they were younger. 

Molyneaux said that he usually has to work over fair weekend and Ollinger has moved out of the area when she was younger. He added that the fair changes every year; some years it's bigger, some years it's smaller, but it's nice to have something people can do outside and take their families to. 

"The food has definitely gotten better," he said, chuckling.

He added that the paid parking is the least the community could do for the fair, since most of the people working and organizing the fair are volunteers and take their own time to put on the event.

"Five dollars is not that much," he said.

Baranyai said that the fair board doesn't specify what the money is going to and although some improvements have been made, he would have liked to see more. He added that the fair is significantly smaller, especially the vendors in the commercial building compared to five years ago. 

"Paid parking sucks, but I'm hoping it's for a good cause," he said.