My Deal with the Sweet Grass County Fair

County fair week was one of my favorite times of the year as a kid, and I’d spend all year, it seemed, preparing for it. My younger brother, Evan, and I would spend all summer getting our show animals ready; I’d spend hours trying to create the best painting I could; I’d collect photos I’d taken with my mom’s camera throughout the year in hopes of winning a blue ribbon.

Fall of 2020 was the first year I didn’t attend the Red River County Fair for a few reasons. Evan had graduated high school and wasn’t showing anymore. I’d moved up here and just couldn’t justify spending money on a plane ticket in September when my parents and grandparents were flying up to visit the week after. And, you know….COVID. Call me a wash up, call me a has been, but I don’t know — there’s just something about the county fair that puts a smile on my face.

Lucky for me, the Sweet Grass County 4-H Council had my fix.

Earlier this summer, a member of the 4-H Council asked if I would be interested in photographing the Sweet Grass County Fair. I didn’t even ask when the dates were, “absolutely, what do you need from me?” I asked.

After officially checking my calendar and making sure my work from home schedule would be flexible enough, I sent in an official email bid. A few weeks later, I was asked to be Sweet Grass County’s Official Fair Photographer.

County fair week rolled around and although I’d never attended the Sweet Grass County Fair, it felt nostalgic. Of course, there were a few differences from the county fair I grew up around: Red River’s county fair is at the end of September; we have an accompanying carnival; it may be different now, but when I was growing up, we only had a heifer show — no steers; I’d never seen a dog or cat show at the County Fair; and Sweet Grass County’s weather forecast didn’t call for 100 percent humidity.

Basically, it was different — but in the absolute best way possible.

Now, that’s not to say I love the Sweet Grass County Fair more than Red River’s. I enjoyed them both, equally, but for different reasons.

I thought it was so cool, for lack of a better word, that at Sweet Grass County any 4-H or FFA kid could bring just about any indoor project they wanted to the fair to be judged. I thought it was even cooler that these projects were accompanied by a short interview and reviewed by a panel of judges who immediately gave the exhibitor feedback.

Although I missed my beloved funnel cakes and coconut pie from the Red River County concessions, I thought it was neat that there was only one concession stands and local clubs took turns every year to man it.

The biggest difference, however, was how little people I knew at the beginning of the week.

I moved to Billings a little over two years ago, and started dating my now husband, Lane, a few months after that move. We didn’t get married until July 3, 2021, so needless to say: I’m still considered an out-of-towner in Big Timber, Montana.

Right off the bat, I could not get over the way so many exhibitors, their families, and people putting on the fair just treated me like I belonged.  It was subtle at the beginning, I was introduced to a few new people and chatted up the folks I knew. But after I’d released a few photo galleries from different shows, I was overwhelmed with the positive response I received.

People whose names I’d only heard in passing went out of their way to say,“hey I love that picture you posted yesterday!” Or “we’re happy you’re here!”

I received compliment after compliment from exhibitors who saw me take photos of them in the show ring.

The 4-H Council and Extension Office employees asked me every hour on the hour if I “was still doing okay?” and if I needed water or a snack. 

Heck, I’m still getting Facebook messages thanking me for my time.

It felt incredible to be appreciated the way that I was.

At the beginning of the week, I couldn’t help but wonder why this overwhelming support and warm welcomes came my way. Frankly, I don’t know if it’s because people didn’t think they would have fair photographer this year after their veteran photographer moved away, or if they were generally just that happy to have me.

Then I sat through Friday night’s county fair auction and saw a 4-H kid’s hog sell for $20/pound, and another kid’s painting of a horse for over $1,000. And I knew the answer.

Sweet Grass County just supports agriculture, in every single way possible, and the county fair showcases an entire week of this.

From the three-year-old kid I saw participate in the “Cloverbud” showmanship (that’s what young 4-H kids are called, how cute!?), to the people who bought a 4-H kid’s homemade leather koozie for $500 — Sweet Grass County is a hub for agricultural appreciation at every level, and boy do I love it.

After being around so many members of the community all week, come Friday night I no longer felt like an out-of-towner. I even got a “you’re one of us” text Friday afternoon.

So my “deal” is that I’m happy to be here; happy to be part of the community; and happy to have the support of said community.

I’m over the moon happy I got to photograph the Sweet Grass County fair, not just because I love taking photos, but because I now know so many friendly faces, and I can’t wait to see them all again next year.

To view fair photos, click here!