Fair board discusses Halloween event and lack of board members

The Great Northern Fairgrounds will be hosting a massive Halloween event with some attractions opening as early as Thursday, a topic of much discussion at Tuesday’s meeting of the Great Northern Fair Board, which remains without a quorum due to an ongoing lack of members.

In an interview after the meeting Great Northern Fairgrounds Manager Frank English said the upcoming Halloween event will be the largest Havre has ever seen, with most events and attractions running from Oct. 29 through Oct. 31.

This includes the Trunk or Treat Event, complete with candy and decorated vehicles, which English is still looking for more participants for.

The contest for best vehicle will be held Oct. 30 from 5 to 10 p.m. with a $5 entrance fee.

He said he wants as many participants as humanly possible to make this the best event it can be for the children of Havre and encouraged anyone interested to get in touch with him.

He said he’s also looking for more participants in the Halloween Barbecue Contest beginning Oct. 29 at 5 p.m.

English said, if he gets enough participants, he will upgrade the prize, currently a new high-quality grill, to a larger Blackstone grill with more features.

The entry fee for the event is $25 and people interested in participating in it, or the trunk or treat event can call 406-265-7121.

The event will also feature a scavenger hunt from 5 to 9 p.m. on that Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a pumpkin carving contest Friday and Saturday 5 to 7 p.m. and hayrides from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday for $5 and $3 for adults and children respectively.

The event will also feature a bar and live music from Derek Hann, Larry Myer, Drewsifer and The Hellhounds, and 90 Proof Sin from 5 p.m. to midnight all three nights, as well as a 50/50 raffle with $1 tickets, as well as vendors.

English said Montana State University-Northern will be selling scones and the Havre Rotary Club will be selling caramel apples and hot coco.

Before all of that, however, beginning Thursday the Experiment Z-21 Escape Room and the Jaycees Spook House, this year located in the fairground’s Commercial Building, will open.

English said tickets for the escape room are already sold out, so unless there is a cancellation, it’s all booked up.

He said he tested out both the escape room, which he said was a total blast, and the spook house, which he said is massive and really impressive this year.

The spook house will be open weekdays from 7 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 7 p.m. to midnight.

Tickets are $6 with a $1 discount for non-perishable food donations.

The bounce houses will be open weekdays 5 to 10 p.m. and weekends noon to 10 p.m. Wrist bands for each day will be $10.

English said it’s a great opportunity for anyone who decides to camp at the grounds during that time and part of the proceeds from many of these events will go back to the fairgrounds to make much needed upgrades.

He said he hopes to make the event a massive success and, depending on how well it goes, the fairgrounds may do something similarly elaborate for Christmas.

Finding fair board members

During the fair board’s meeting, where many of these events were discussed, the remaining board members talked about the possibility of getting more members with Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean, who attended the meeting as a member of the public.

McLean expressed frustration with the apparent hesitancy of the commission to appoint any of the four applicants they have interviewed to the board.

She said she understands that the board still doesn’t have a quorum and needs more members if they are going to function properly.

She said given that these are volunteer positions with no particular qualifications, she thinks the commission is out of line for not moving to make appointments.

McLean said she believes this is unfair to current members of the board, fairgrounds employees and the community and suggested that the commission sit down with applicants and current board members for a second interview.

When asked about why the commission has not made any appointments she said to ask her fellow commissioners, but she suspects they don’t believe the current applicants are qualified.

Havre Daily this morning asked in an email Hill County commissioners Mark Peterson and Jake Strissel for a response to McLean’s comment.

In an emailed reply, Strissel said he respects her opinion on the fair board and that he believes each candidate could bring unique qualities and strengths to the position.

Strissel said this morning it is the policy of the commission not to disclose the names of applicants to the fair board.

Strissel said two reasons exist why he and Peterson have not supported appointing any candidates to the positions as yet.

One is that the commission would like to include the sitting board members and fairgrounds manager in the interviews with the candidates and scheduling issues have made that difficult, Strissel said.

The other is that they are actively seeking more candidates before they make a final decision, he said.

“I understand this process is taking longer than anyone involved with would like,” Strissel said in the email. “However, our goal for the successful achievement of the fair board is to have a cohesive unit that works well with one another and is able do what’s right for our community. Naturally, due diligence takes longer than simply appointing someone.”

Installing more power sources

The board also discussed a recent proposal by Becki Miller of Kremlin 4-H to install more power sources on the fairgrounds.

At last month’s meeting, Miller said people from 4-H park campers around the Bigger Better Barn during the fair, and after this year’s triple-digit heat she’s been really thinking about seeing if 4-H can get power to those campers, and potentially others in that area of the grounds.

She said she’s been coordinating with NorthWestern Energy about the possibility and said 4-H would pay to install it if the fair is willing to maintain it.

She said she thinks this would create the potential for new revenue to the fair and she’s already had several people reach out willing to donate to the installation.

The board members, Bob Kaul and Michelle Burchard, said during that meeting that it seems like a good idea, but they would need to work out details.

At this week’s meeting they said they recently spoke with Peterson and Strissel, both of whom thought it was a great idea.

Honoring Tom Farnham

The board also entertained a request from former fairgrounds manager and current fair board applicant David Brewer to honor former fair board member Tom Farnham’s memory by naming a building after him somewhere on the fairgrounds, or something to that effect.

Farnham died May 25.

English suggested they plant a memorial tree, and the board seemed to agree that that was a good idea, but Kaul and McLean said they think the memorial trees on the park will need a drip system to stay alive, and the fair may want to consider investing in one in the near future.