The 2006 TILLAMOOK COUNTY FAIR closed on August 12th as the most successful fair in history for the sixteenth year in a row. Many records were set and a lot of fun was had by all. Attendance was up 2% to 71,180 fairgoers with Saturday’s attendance of 25,042 fairgoers setting a single day record.
The Fair Board's choice of “A Blue Ribbon Affair” for the fair theme proved to be a winner. The fair theme had been chosen by the Fair Board because they knew that a blue ribbon signifies something that is rated at the top of its class, division or category. For years the 2006 Tillamook County Fair has been considered one of the best County Fairs in the state, if not in the nation. That’s because the Tillamook County Fair exceeds fairgoers expectations by providing them with fun, excitement and entertainment for free once they have paid their admission into the fair. This year fairgoers definitely got their money’s worth and enjoyed “A Blue Ribbon Affair”. From watching free grandstand shows featuring nationally acclaimed country artists John Michael Montgomery, SHeDAISY, Billy Dean and a smashing and crashing Demolition Derby, seeing demonstrations by Brad’s World Reptiles with big slithering snakes, being brought under a hypnotic spell in front of friends, seeing 4-H and FFA members exhibiting everything from flowers to their prize hog or steer or experiencing the excitement and squeals of the Pig-N-Ford Races. Fairgoers were also able to take in a wide variety of daily courtyard entertainment on stage from 10 am to 7 pm daily or they visited the dairy barns and saw the most dairy cows present at any county fair in the state. Fairgoers had their expectations exceeded also when they realized that it didn’t cost anything extra to participate in the Huckleberry Health Fair, watch exciting Pari-Mutuel Horse Races or to take in the Talent Show Contest featuring Tillamook County’s finest. They were also able to enjoy Jeff Martin “The Blond Curly-Haired Magician” on the Courtyard Stage and try to figure out “How Did He Do That”? Add up all of the fun, excitement and entertainment just listed and you can easily see why the 2006 Tillamook County Fair was “A Blue Ribbon Affair”.
Tillamook County residents and landowners really supported the fair by entering a record number of exhibits in Open Class with Floral, Land Products and Culinary showing large increases. 4-H/FFA programs continue to be a very big part of the fair and have such a presence in Tillamook County because of an outstanding Extension Service Staff, excellent FFA advisors and countless 4-H/FFA leaders. The Market Animal Sale reported an increase with $73,844.85 in sales. A total of seventy animals were sold. Special thanks need to go to the Junior Livestock Auction Committee for their hard work all year long to make the Market Animal Sale what it is today.
The 2006 Open Dairy Show had another quality show. The Sue Durrer and Youth Dairy Barns were filled with 268 dairy animals. This is more than any County Fair in Oregon. Both out of state judges remarked that the quality of the animals was like a National Show. Many exhibitors felt the competition was the best in years.
Haworth Family Shows provided carnival rides this year and had gross sales of $147,442.50. This was a 2% increase over last year. The advance sales of the "All You Can Ride" coupons again proved very popular. For the first time, the gross sales of the “All You Can Ride” coupons accounted for more than half of the gross sales. Haworth Family Shows had rides that appealed to young and old alike.
Pari-Mutuel Horse Racing also set a record. The live handle of $115,142.00 was up 4% over last year. The total handle was the highest ever in the history of the Tillamook County Fair. Thanks need to go to the Oregon Racing Commission for providing the purse money this year and continuing their bonus to the jockey’s. Thanks also to the Averill, Jenck and Williams families and the Oregon Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association for providing additional purse money for feature races each day.
Entertainment at the 2006 Tillamook County Fair offered something for everyone. The popular Pig-N-Ford Races celebrated their 82nd year and filled the grandstands Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Bobby Wassmer won his fifth World Championship and bragging rights for the next year. Courtyard entertainment was available all day and included many local groups and paid entertainers. Brad’s WORLD REPTILES demonstrations proved to be very popular again on the courtyard stage. Hypnotist, Kerry Sharp provided two shows each day and attracted large crowds. The free grandstand shows were very popular this year because of the big name national talent that performed. Country artists John Michael Montgomery and SHeDAISY attracted large audiences in the grandstands on Wednesday and Thursday. Country singer Billy Dean attracted a good size audience on Friday when he was brought to the stage in a Pig-N-Ford car. The Demolition Derby on Saturday again surpassed all expectations with so many people attending, that even with using the Rodeo bleachers some people were still unable to view the Derby. Fairgoers are still amazed that these grandstand shows continue to be free with their price of admission.
The Fair Board would like to extend their gratitude to everyone involved with this year's fair. A big thank you goes out to everyone who helped, supported or participated in making the 2006 TILLAMOOK COUNTY FAIR a record fair. The amount of community support and volunteerism was unbelievable this year. The Fair Board is already planning on making next year's fair bigger and even better.