A FAIR Perspective by Retiring CEO Ed Scofield

Click HERE to read a 25 year long perspective of the beautifully evolving Nevada County Fairgrounds!

Going “Green” at the Nevada County Fair

As the world's attention focuses on ways to lighten the load on our planet's resources, this year's Nevada County Fair will include several “green” events and features, including a solar powered radio station, a “recycling” fashion show, a mining shack built from recycled materials, additional bins for recycling glass and aluminum, and alternative methods of transportation.

KVMR’s broadcast booth will be powered again this year by solar energy, and supported by Plan It Solar, Northern Sierra Air Quality Management, and Sierra Solar System.

Solar-powered sprint cars will also race by using the power of the sun. The cars, created using solar cell kits, were built and designed by the youth of Nevada County. The cars will race on a 20’ course at the Dance Pad on Saturday, August 9, at noon.

The popular Haute Trash fashion show returns this year on Wednesday, August 6, at 6 pm, and again on Thursday, August 7, at 5:30 pm, on the Pine Tree Stage. This show presents a hilarious aspect of recycling by using discarded materials to make clothing of all sorts. This show is sponsored by Nevada County Recycles, a sponsor of the Fair.

Again this year, the Fairgrounds has partnered with Nevada County Recycles and People First of Nevada County to provide recycling services during the Fair. There will be an increased number of bins placed around the Fairgrounds for recycling glass and aluminum. Every morning before the Fair opens, members of the local People First Chapter will be making the rounds collecting and replacing the bags in the bins. People First is a local self-advocacy group for adults with developmental disabilities, affiliated with state and national groups.

On display outside the Main Building is a mining shack created by students of the county’s Regional Occupational Program (ROP). Built in conjunction with the Nevada County Contractors’ Association, who created the assignment for the students, the building is made entirely of recycled materials.

Animal manure from exhibit animals is available for pickup by gardeners and others during the week following the Fair. The Saturday following the Fair, the Nevada County Farm Bureau will remove and recycle the remaining manure by transporting it to local farms for composting. The Farm Bureau also does the removing and recycling of manure following the Draft Horse Classic in September.

The Fair also recognizes that its event can create traffic congestion issues. Because of this and the high cost of fuel, the Fairgrounds has made alternative methods of transportation available to Fair-goers. Gold Country Stage will offer extended service to the Fair. The cost from Nevada City or Grass Valley is $1 each way, and the cost from Auburn or Penn Valley is $2 each way. Or, you can park at the Nevada Union High School parking lot and take the free shuttle, provided by the Nevada County Fairgrounds, to/from the Fairgrounds. The shuttle leaves every half hour, Wednesday through Sunday, starting at 8:30 am. New this year, the Fair will offer free parking for motorcycles at a designated area at Gate 1.

"We have always had an eye on reducing the environmental impact of the Fair," says Fair CEO Ed Scofield. "We're happy to see the growing support among participants for a more environmentally positive approach."

For more information, visit www.nevadacountyfair.com or call (530) 273-6217.

Nevada County Fair’s 2008 Blue Ribbon Award

Tony Sauer and Sam Dardick have been named the Nevada County Fair’s 2008 Blue Ribbon Award recipients. The award was created by the Fair’s industry association, the Western Fairs Association (WFA), to recognize dedicated individuals who support their local Fair. Both Sauer and Dardick have been instrumental in providing guidance to the Fair in creating a more disabled-friendly Fair, and in creating the annual Day for People with Disabilities at the Fair.

Sauer and Dardick began working with the Nevada County Fairgrounds in 1983 when a recently installed cobblestone path created a challenge for those with walkers and wheelchairs. They worked with the Fair to develop solutions to make the path more user-friendly. Since that time they have worked with the Fair to create grounds that are safe and user-friendly to those with disabilities. They have created surveys that helped the Fair identify changes that needed to occur to make the grounds more disabled-friendly, have assisted the Fair in implementing these changes, and, even today, continue to help the Fair identify areas that can be improved upon to create a better environment for persons with disabilities.

“The contributions that Tony and Sam have made to Nevada County and the Fairgrounds are significant,” said Ed Scofield, Nevada County Fairgrounds CEO. “Their tireless efforts and work have created a better and safer Fair for our community.”

Sam Dardick, an advocate for people with disabilities, is a former Nevada County Supervisor and a founder of FREED Center for Independent Living, a non-profit group dedicated to serving people with disabilities. He also took the lead in California to lobby for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which passed in 1990 to prohibit discrimination against disabled people.

Tony Sauer currently serves as the director of California’s Department of Rehabilitation. Prior to that, he served as executive director for the Nevada-Sierra Regional In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority, where he managed the recruiting and training of more than 1,000 workers who provide services to people with disabilities. He was also the executive director for the FREED Center for Independent Living.

Sauer and Dardick will be recognized at the Fair’s Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, August 6, and again at 12:30 on Friday, August 8, at the Pine Tree Stage. For information about the Fair, August 6 – 10, call (530) 273-6217 or visit www.nevadacountyfair.com.

Entertaining and Informative Horse Demonstrations

Demonstrations showcasing everything from handling baby foals to riding a young horse for its first time, and from miniatures to draft horses, are scheduled at the 2008 Nevada County Fair, August 6 – 10. Demonstrations take place every half hour from 11:30 am until 5:30 pm Wednesday through Sunday. In addition, a halter competition is slated for Thursday at 8 am.

“Our goal is to entertain visitors, as well as help educate them,” says Horse Exhibit Coordinator Ron Davis. “We have lined up exhibitors from all over Northern California.”

There will be draft horses pulling wagons, barrel racing, dressage, and foal handling exhibitions. Each day at 3:30 pm, professional horse trainer Jerily McCormick will demonstrate how to start round-pen training with a two-year-old colt. “Hopefully, the horse will advance from basic ground training the first day to being able to be ridden at a walk, jog and lope by the fifth day,” explains McCormick, a Nevada County resident who has been training horses for two decades.

Haflingers, the “Golden Horse of Austria,” reveal their versatility by pulling carriages, jumping, being ridden English and Western, and playing a competitive game of equine soccer. The horses actually kick the beach ball with their legs, trying to score goals (see photo).

Other breeds will also be featured, including Peruvian Pasos, Paints, Quarter Horses, Arabians, Morgans, Tennessee Walking Horses, Mules, Shires, Spotted Drafts, and Miniature horses. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm, herding dogs will exhibit their innate abilities to gather and move sheep and other livestock.

For specific demonstrations and times, please see the Nevada County Fair Schedule located at the Fair Office, at the Gates at the Fairgrounds, or on-line at the Fair’s website at www.nevadacountyfair.com. For more information about this year’s Fair, call the Fair Office at 530-273-6217.

ENTERTAINMENT ABOUNDS AT THE NEVADA COUNTY FAIR

Thrilling Arena Events, Live Bands, Magic Tricks, and Karaoke

Entertainment abounds at this year's Nevada County Fair, August 6-10. In addition to carnival rides, Treat Street goodies, community exhibits, nightly arena events, and barns full of livestock, this year's Fair will feature five stages of ongoing entertainment.

Providing a little something for everyone, there will be everything from Japanese style drumming, to Country music and magic tricks, to Blues music and old-fashioned Rock and Roll.

Here's a few of this year's acts:

- Steel Breeze, famous for the 1982 hit "Don't You Want Me Anymore," makes their appearance at the Fair on Friday at 8 and 9:30 pm at the Budweiser Music Stage.

- Mogollon, known for their guitar wizardry and dueling fiddles, will perform on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 8 and 9:30 pm,

- Patton Leatha, playing Top 40 hits, will be at the Pine Tree Stage on Saturday from 8 – 9:30 pm.

- Solid Air, recently nominated for a Grammy, will perform original American Folk music on Wednesday at 4 pm at the Pine Tree Stage.

Some of our local bands featured this year will be:

- Grass Valley Taiko, the local group performing Japanese-style drumming on Friday at 2 pm on the Pine Tree Stage.

- The Denny Russell Band will perform Country Rock on Thursday at 8 and 9:30 pm on he Pine Tree Stage

- Inside Strait will perform contemporary Rock and Country on Friday at 3pm at the Budweiser Music Stage.

- For old-fashioned Rock and Roll, visit the Budweiser Music Stage on Saturday evening at 4 pm to see Highway 49, The Band perform a mixture of Rock and Roll, Blues, and funkadelic Rock.

- Or, check out the San-Francisco based trio, The Bonedrivers, on Sunday at 8 and 9:30 on the Pine Tree Stage for some Roadhouse Style Rock and Blues.

- If you're in the mood for Blues, check out The Shane Dwight Band on Wednesday at 8 and 9:30 pm at the Budweiser Music Stage.

For something out of the ordinary:

- Magic by Bill perform his amazing feats on Friday and Saturday in the morning.

- Idol Competition on Wednesday at 8 pm at the Pine Tree Stage

- Karaoke from 8 – 11 pm in the Special Events Tent

- KVMR will be at the Silver Stage, where they will broadcast live during the Fair. Stop by and listen to a variety of local and regional musicians performing each night.

Each night of the Fair will also feature action-packed events in the Arena.
All arena events begin at 7 pm nightly.

- Wednesday – Professional Bull Riding

- Thursday – the Rodeo

- Friday - Tuff Truck Racing & Monster Trucks

- Saturday – Free Style Moto X Riders & Monster Trucks

- Sunday – the Demolition Derby.

For a complete schedule of events, visit www.nevadacountyfair.com, or call (530) 273-6217. This year's Fair runs August 6 – 10.