Elmore County Fair marks new tradition

Trinity Law walked her pig "Petunia" in the parade on Saturday. The 14 year old has raised and shown animals for the past seven years. Law will be showing Petunia at the county fairgrounds July 20.

by Tim Bondy

Mountain Home News

Mountain Home helped kick off this year's Elmore County Fair as it hosted a kickoff parade and family fun day on Saturday.

Collecting toys and candy was obviously the best part of the kickoff parade for two year old Eba Fowler and her four-year-old sister, Elliot. Their mother, Laura Fowler, said her two children were "really liking the sparking and glittered horses, too."

Nine different floats and a few hundred residents walked and rode along the parade route, which began at city hall and continued to Carl Miller Park.

Once the parade ended, the family fun day started.

Kids lined the streets for the county fair's inaugural kickoff parade and were seen occasionally darting out to gather handfuls of candy, toys and prizes thrown from floats and people in the parade. For some parade goers, the event was just a peek of what's to come starting on July 20 when the fair officially opens to the general public at the grounds in Glenns Ferry.

Keeping with the fun day and fair's agricultural theme, Tammy Oltman and members of the 4-H Waca Pacas club set up an petting zoo, which allowed children like Kaliyah Quinn the opportunity to pet one known as Cousco.

"We're new to Mountain Home, and our kids have never been to a county fair before," said Shari and Cory McNalley regarding their three children. "There weren't any family friendly county fairs at our last station in Florida."

According to the fair's chairman, Larry "Slick" Jewett, the primary purpose of the Elmore County Fair is to promote local agriculture, and the parade helped highlight that goal. The Optimist and 4-H club members, most of them under the age of 16, made up the vast majority of the people in the parade.

Entertainment, food and vendor's booths for the first annual family fun day, awaited the crowds at the end of the parade route. And with the final judging of the Elmore County's Got Talent competition slated to take place later in the day, some families decided to make it an all-day event.

Sophie Forsberb-Crotty, a self-professed thrill seeker and adrenaline junkie, took first place in the first annual "Elmore County's Got Talent" competition on Saturday for her rendition of the Trisha Yearwood song, "How do I Love." She earned the opportunity to sing the National Anthem on opening day at the Elmore County Fair in Glenns Ferry on July 20.

"We have a friend in the (talent) contest, and we're staying until we find out if she wins," said Alexis Garcia, who felt that everyone who entered were winners in her opinion.

Three local organizations provided most of the food, desserts and drinks for the family fun day. One of those organization was the chamber's Military Affairs Committee, which served gourmet hamburgers and hot dogs. All the money collected will support efforts in promoting support of Mountain Home Air Force Base to help protect the installation against another round of possible base closures.

A crowd favorite, the Elmore County Rotary Club food booth, served deep fried Twinkies and cookies along with freshly cut watermelon. According club official Greg Berry, the "sweet part" is all the money they collect will go toward their scholarship to help a local student.

Jaxson and Chase Moceika show off their new "ink" after they stopped at a temporary airbrush tatoo booth in Carl Miller Park, which continued to serve young customers during Saturday's festivities in the park. The boys got the tattoos after watching the parade, where they said the green dog was the coolest part of the day.

Other booths that stayed busy throughout the day included a temporary tattoo parlor, arts and craft booths and a cotton candy stand.

As the day started heating up, the crowd gathered around center stage for the big event that many people waited around for hours to start. Organizers Renee Forsberg and Brandie Garlitz opened the Elmore County's Got Talent competition.

Ten aspiring amateur entertainers took to the stage for a chance to win $250 and the opportunity to sing or perform the National Anthem on the opening day of the Elmore County Fair.

The competition's three judges, Bud Corbus, Jost Heap and Maryanne Peterson had some tough decisions to make after listening to the singers, guitarist and pianist who made it to the finals.

In the end, Sophie Forsberg-Crotty, an avid 4-H participant, took the $250 first place prize for singing the song, "How Do I Love."

Malia Rivera, a 16-year-olds guitarist, took second place for performing the song, "This is Gospel." Cami Dugan, a nine year old, finished third for her rendition of the Sabrina Carpenter song, "Eyes Wide Open."