It's Fair Time

The fair is coming to Alma August 1 - 7. Come for the amazing fair food. Come for the carnival. Come and watch our exhibitors participate in various shows. Come to the Rodeo. There is fun for all a the 2010 Gratiot County Fair for Youth. Click on Fair Schedule for times and locations of events.

Parking is $5.00 per vehicle per day or weekly parking passes are available at the gate for $15.00 or $12.00 in advance. Restrooms are located in the Vanderbeek Fair Office (Green & White building in center of grounds) and the bath house located between the camping areas and the horse arena.

Please leave your pets at home. The fair will send anyone home with a pet at the fairgrounds.

Come to the River Rock Barn (located in the red cafeteria building) for outstanding food brought to you by the great people at River Rock Bar & Grill in St. Louis. Great specials, amazing food and proceeds go to support the fair.

Harvey's Agriculural Solutions of Carson City Presents the 2010 Super Kicker Rodeo at the Gratiot County Fair for Youth Saturday, August 7, 2010. Tickets cost $8.00 in advance at Alley T, Ithaca, Chemical Bank, Alma, Chemical Bank, St. Louis, Glen' Market, Alma, Harvey's, Carson City, MSU Extension, Ithaca, Ric's Food Center, Ithaca, and at the Alma Fair Office during fair week. Tickets at the gate cost $10.00.

The Rodeo features BULLS, BRONCS, TEAM ROPING, MUTTON BUSTING, and BARRELL RACING. Plan on an event filled with family fun.

The rodeo is sponsored by:

Major Rodeo Sponsor:
Harvey's Agricultural Solutions, Carson City

Event/Chute Sponsors:
Spartan Insurance Agency, Ithaca
Double Eagle Dairy Farm, Middleton
Four D Farms, LLC, Perrinton
TradeWind Energy, Lakeview
Bader & Sons Co., St. Louis

Arena Sponsors:
Zeeland Farm Service, Zeeland
Strong-Kellogg Homestead Farms, Ithaca & Alley T, Ithaca

Mutton Busting/Calf Scramble Sponsors
GreenStone Farm Credit Services, Alma
Saia Fabricating, LLC, Sumner
Wendy's of Alma, Alma
Petersen Oil & Propane, Greenville
Mibelloon Dairy, St. Louis
ASAP Sales & Service, Alma
Krol Communications, Owosso

Partners of the Rodeo Sponsors:
Lum Hughston Trucking, McBain
DeSaegher Dairy, Middleton
Hirschman Trucking, Ithaca
Crumbaugh Farms Partnership, Wheeler
MAC Middleton, Middleton

Other Rodeo Sponsors
Pat's Auto, Inc., St. Louis
Perry Shoemaker, Cable
Trails End Trucking, Conklin
Monosem Planter, Ithaca

New Fair Office

Horse Record Books Updated

Livestock Ear Tags

T-Shirts still available

Fair Holds Annual Meeting

On Thursday, November 5, the Fair held its annual meeting of its membership.  At this meeting Board President Darcy Martyn presented some statistics from our last fiscal year.  Martyn reported there were:

• 557 Youth Exhibitors
• 4532 Projects entered
• 360 trophies presented
• $6,285 distributed in premium dollars (with all but $1,000 coming from the fair’s general funds)
• $320,511.76 paid for large animals, $21,490 for small animals, and $31,478 for still exhibits.
• 318 total buyers (174 large animal, 152 still exhibit, and 78 small animal)
• 154 unique donors gave $77,911 in donations and sponsorships.

Martyn also reported on the large scope of projects completed during the last fiscal year.  They include significant upgrades to the cafeteria, repainting the feeder, crops, and still exhibit barns, the insides of the beef barns, and the horse announcer’s booth, putting steel on the bottom of the swine barn, improving the sound system, completing the Laurie Smith Memorial Announcer’s Booth, and installing new doors on the exhibit and feeder barns.

At the meeting the association elected four directors to the board which are Matt Cary, Darcy Martyn (for a second term), Mark Story, and Argil Willman.  Each of these new directors will serve a three year term.  Jacob Sherwood was appointed the new teen representative and will serve a 2 year term on the board. 

The new directors replace four outstanding individuals who have given tirelessly to our board.  They are Morgan Brennan, Kris Duflo, Becky Hirschman, and Marshall Jenkins. 

2010 Fair Camping Information

Camping remains one of the top priorities for the fair.  The board is responsible to ensure our campsites meet the state’s campgrounds rules and requirements as required by our annual license.  We also have a huge demand for our campsites.  Currently we have 47 families on our waiting list for sites.  Please call or e-mail the fair office (989-875-5292 or bgardner@gcffy.org) if you would like to have your name added to this list.

The fair’s camping committee met to go over the camping process for the fair.  They made a few recommendations to the fair’s board of directors who approved the following changes at the November Board of Directors meeting.

The fair will begin to investigate the feasibility of adding additional campsites along the south end of the fairgrounds.  At this point we are working with the DEQ to ensure our additional bathroom facilities brought on by our new building project will increase our camping capacity.

The fair will renumber the campsites before our camping season.  The current numbering system jumps around from every expansion of the project.  Campers will keep their existing site but their number will probably change.

The camping fee will be $100 for the entire week for campers housing fair exhibitors, animal superintendents, and fair board members.  Others will be charged $250 for the same time period. 

The fair will enforce a midnight curfew for campers and have set up a procedure to make this happen.  Finally, the fair will not allow dogs in the fairgrounds including in the camping areas.