FOUKE, Ark. - It may be themed "Rona Style," but the Miller County Fair and Rodeo aims to bring traditional fun times to the fairgrounds Saturday with a youth rodeo, livestock show, live music and more.
Even the coronavirus won't stop the fair and rodeo from celebrating its 105th anniversary.Held at the Miller County Fairgrounds, the fair and rodeo has both daytime and nighttime festivities. During the day, check out the array of vendors participating, plus the home arts show. At night, The Shelton Band performs live in concert.
For the rodeo, which kicks off at 7 p.m. with gates open at 6 p.m., the 18 and under cowboys and cowgirls will compete in mutton bustin', bull riding, barrel racing, broncs, breakaway, calf scramble and more.
Jessica Jeane, president of the Miller County Fair Association, said they have contestants coming from as far as Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the Junior Jackpot Livestock show, which starts in the morning.
"We're also going to have a high-risk only time from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.," Jeane said. For anyone who is high-risk with the coronavirus but still wants to enjoy the fair activities, they can do so that morning.
Gates open for general admission at 10:30 a.m. Admission is $2. The daytime activities run until around 4 p.m. When gates close, the fair association will clean the premises and sanitize areas like the restrooms.
"We want to be able to provide the best event possible due to the circumstances that we're in," Jeane said.
Gates open back up around 5:30 p.m. Admission for the evening is $5, but attendees can buy a ticket for the evening during the day. They'll get an armband to come and go. Live music starts at 7 p.m., running until 11 p.m.
During that time, the youth rodeo will happen over in the fairgrounds arena. Twenty contestants can compete for mutton bustin - first come, first served.
"They're going to have a calf scramble, so that will include all the kids if they want to get out there and chase those calves and try to win a couple of dollars or whatever they want to put on there," Jeane said.
The "Rona Style" slogan was the winner of several possibilities with an online vote. Masks are strongly recommended, Jeane said.
The salsa competition will be a competitive affair, starting at 2 p.m. Awards of a $100 cash prize and trophies will be given. Anyone in the Four States Areas is invited to compete.
"Anyone in the area that has the best salsa can bring two pint jars of their salsa to the Justin Magness State Farm booth. We will accept participants until around 2:30 p.m.," Jeane said, adding, "We're going to give a prize for the best hot sauce, the best mild sauce and then overall. Overall wins a $100 bill."
The check-in for Home Arts is Friday, but this year it's different. Normally a county fair takes participants from the county, Jeane said, but they'll accept entries from all counties this time.
"Because our surrounding county fairs canceled, we are going to take all home arts," Jeane said. "If you're not a Miller County resident, then they can come from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and do a home arts check-in."
That includes baked goods, wooden crafts, canned goods and more. "Then they will be on display Saturday," Jeane said.
As for food vendors, they are eclectic, providing everything from fried chicken wings to corn dogs, funnel cakes to catfish dinners, cupcakes to caramel apples. Eight non-profit organizations will participate. Other vendors include boutiques, seasonal crafts, T-shirts, custom jewelry, western goods, quilts, handcrafted wind chimes and more.
"It's going to be a great day to get some early Christmas shopping in, that's for sure," Jeane said, noting they've received strong support and they're hoping and praying for a great crowd.
(For more information, visit Facebook.com/MillerCountyFairAR. The Miller County Fairgrounds is located at 401 E. Lewis St. in Fouke, Arkansas.)