Red Lake County Fair had many events for all ages

The Red Lake County Fair officially opened the doors on a beautiful summer morning , Friday, June 28th with a Flag Raising Ceremony held in front of the RLCC High School in Oklee. The Oklee American Legion Post #159 presented colors and raised the flag.

Then the people came with their projects, crafts, canned goods, etc to enter into the 4-H or Open Class exhibits. Once that was completed, the judges spent most of the day judging all the exhibits.

By evening, everyone could see who was the lucky winners for not only 1st, 2nd or 3rd places but who took the Grand Champion or Reserve ribbons.

During the day for Seniors was their annual Senior Day at the Oklee Hall. They had a good sized crowd as usual. The Area on Aging served light lunch of delicious desserts and coffee while the speakers, Deb Kiel on the Minnesota Legislature about Eldercare & Abuse which can come in many different forms, Education got more funding, Roads & Bridges go more funding and Kiel said to call her if you have any questions or concerns. Darby Larsen  from Riverview in Crookston talked about pre-diabetes, how to change your diet and other lifestyle choices to take control, and that Riverview offers free classes on controlling pre-diabetes if you qualify  and Bruce Piersol gave some good information and instructions on using a AED machine which most public buildings now have in place. Also how important it is for these public AED machines to have fresh batteries and should be checked regularly.

Bingo is always a favorite part of Senior Day and the Seniors had a great time playing for some pretty nice prizes.

Later on Friday, Wojo Rodeo put on a great rodeo our at the Fair Grounds south of Oklee across from the Oklee Pits. The action was grea.t I heard and there was some injuries to at least one bull rider. Hope all turnout out well. 

After the rodeo, there was a dance with a DJ and the weather was great so folks got to kick up their heels or visit for the evening.

Saturday was the day if you were a kid, as every events seemed to please all the children.

The day started with a Cowboy Breakfast out at the Fair Grounds by the pits. 

The booths and exhibits opened at 9 a.m. and the children of all ages could to a couple of different activities at the school. One of them was the Make It and Take It table where they could make a nail & string project. This was a fun project and the kids and parents enjoyed it.

For adults that day or kids too, there was Bingo in the Hall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and there were lots of lucky winners from reports received.

From 12 noon until 4 p.m. there was bounce houses for the kids to enjoy, a dunk tank for those that like to take a dip, and a climbing wall. I didn’t see too many take advantage of that. All activities were free. There was a escape room also set up in the school. 

At 12 noon was the favorite kids activity - the Pedal Pull Tractors. There were a few 2 years olds, Arianna and Patrick who took their first try on the pedal tractors and received a participation ribbon. Kids that compete, can go on to the State Fair if they win in this competition. There wasn’t quite as much competition as past years. The categories were from ages 3 to 12. Winners received a Ribbon and the chance to compete in September at the State Fair if they chose.

Outside the School was a booth set up from Rydell National Wildlife Refuge. It was a very popular stop for everyone of all ages. They had a table full of information, but that isn’t what was drawing folks in. It was the archery display. Kids and adults both enjoyed learning if they didn’t already know how to shoot with a bow & arrow, and if they did, they enjoyed it also. The shooting gallery had four tubes blowing air that held up four colored balls. With the special safety arrows, you tried to knock the ball out of their place. 

The Rydell National Wildlife Refuge is not too far from home, so it would be a great place if you like to hike, watch wildlife and they have different programs going on quite often. On July 20th at 1:00 p.m. they have a program about Raptors! The program will include live birds including a Red-Tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Saw Whet Owl and a Turkey Vulture. Sounds interesting.

After the Kids Pedal Tractor Pull, the activities had to be moved inside as Mother Nature provided some rain and wind, but thankfully no storms. The Children’s Baja (with small electric vehicles), the kids games (three legged race, egg toss, and others) were moved into Oklee’s Ice Skating Rink building. 

Also due to the rain, Miss Sydney Melby was moved inside the big gymnasium to provide music for anyone who wanted to stop by and listen. 

Later in the afternoon,, the rain quit and the Redneck challenge was held outside the Ice Rink building. This year the challenge was (with a partner) different than last year. One of the two would be blindfolded and then directed to fill a bucket by verbal instruction, walk to  different bucket, and dump the water, then to get water again and dump in another bucket all by verbal instruction given to the blindfolded participant. Once that was completed, the blindfold was removed and the 2nd part of the challenge began. This was to back up a trailer into a designated spot (basically a 90 degree backup), then the partner would grab the jack from inside the trailer, jack it up as if changing a tire and then release the jack and place back on trailer. All of this was timed. There were at least three groups of challengers that participated. 

The sky had cleared and the second night of Wojo Rodeo fun was once again the place to be. There was lots of action and the crowd enjoyed the rodeo very much and the nice weather.

Sunday is usually a quite day in the morning, booths open and people walk through the gym, but the activities usually don’t start until later in the day. This year, there were two activities, both starting at 2 p.m. One was in town and was the 4-H Awards and Share the Fun event held at the Hall in Oklee. If you are in 4-H and have exhibits, this is the place to be. They had trivia contests and you win prizes if you answer correctly. There is the Share the Fun Skit winner from their contest earlier in the year. This year’s winner was the ????? and they will go on to the State Fair to compete against other Share the Fun winners.

There is also the Fashion Show where 4-H sewer and purchasers show off what they made and what they purchased (for the least amount of money). And after that awards are handed out to everyone who exhibited. There are many sponsors that contribute to this and the kids are the winners.

The other activity is the Baja Races held at the Red Lake County’s South Park outside of Oklee. There were many entries in the races and provided hours of fun for everyone out there watching. The day was beautiful with the sun shining down and a nice breeze. 

There are four categories of races: Pickups, 4 cylinders, 6 cylinders and 8 cylinders vehicles. Depending on the number of racers, will decide how many groups will run. The winners of each group moves on to the final run in each category. 

There are minor crashes, lost parts and lots of fun cheering for your favorite driver/car. 

Some vehicles don’t finish their initial run and are pushed out and disqualified. If you are a car Baja race fan, this was the place to be. 

It was a fun fair and another successful fair has come and gone for 2019. Watch for more photos in the next couple of weeks.