Country Christmas Faire - November 28, 29 and 30

Mark your calendar for the 24th annual Country Christmas Faire at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley on November 28, 29 and 30. Rated as one of the top handcrafted shows in Northern California, this year’s Country Christmas Faire will feature unique gifts and crafts from more than 100 top artisans.

Five exhibit buildings will be filled over the Thanksgiving weekend, giving shoppers a chance to start their Christmas shopping with quality hand-made jewelry, wooden crafts, hand-woven baskets, stained glass, candles, beadwork, and dozens of other unique gifts.

Visitors to the Faire will enjoy strolling live entertainment, festival foods, the magical Gingerbread House exhibit, and a community bon-fire. Wagon rides around the Fairgrounds will be offered; and Victorian singers, the bell ringing RiverBells, and the Sierra Symphony quartet will perform throughout the event. Additionally, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus will be in The Chapel to greet children and listen to their Christmas wishes. A photographer will be available to capture the special moment with Santa.

Back by popular demand, the Northern Mines Girl Scouts will offer free babysitting so parents can drop off their children while they enjoy holiday shopping. Errand elves will also be available to assist you throughout the event.

The Country Christmas Faire begins Friday, November 28, and runs through Sunday,November 30. The hours are 10 am – 5 pm on Friday and Saturday; and 10 am – 3 pm on Sunday. Admission is $4 for adults and children 12 and under are free. Parking is also free.

The Nevada County Fairgrounds is located at 11228 McCourtney Road in Grass Valley, 50 miles northeast of Sacramento, off Highway 49. For more information, visit the Fair’s web site at http://www.nevadacountyfair.com/ or call (530) 273-6217.

Draft Horse Classic Dictionary

There was a request for terms and definitions to help guide a new Draft Horse Classic attendee to learn as he goes. Click HERE for our Dictionary! Thanks for the request and we hope you learn a lot at the 2008 Draft Horse Classic taking place September 18-21 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley.

For more information visit our website at http://nevadacountyfair.com/dhc/

Blog Posting Ticket Winners!

If you are posting comments to our blog for a chance to win tickets to the Fair Sponsored Event of your choice, then you better check our site every month around the first of the month to see if you won! So far there have been six winners: March - Denise E, April - Linda, May - Hannah, June - Julie Wheat, July - Yvette and August - Jode!

If you are one of the names above...Congratulations because you posted a comment on the Nevada County Fair blog, you have been chosen as the monthly winner for two free tickets to the Fair-sponsored event of your choice. Please email us at info@nevadacountyfair.com to let us know if you would like tickets to the Draft Horse Classic or the Country Christmas Faire; and if you would like the tickets mailed to you or if you’d prefer to pick them up in person at the Nevada County Fair Office in Grass Valley. If you’d like the tickets mailed to you, we need a name and a mailing address. Thank you so much for your posting. Our blog postings are used to help us continue to offer, improve and create Fair events that can be enjoyed by all!
Have fun telling us what you think about the Nevada County Fair and replying to comments others have already left!

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.