Pope County Fair 4-H Tug-of-War + Belgrade August Fest (VIDEOS*)

Before we get buried by county fair, Belgrade August Fest and Region 8C baseball, here's a blog post that will include some coverage of recent local events.

Here's a video from Saturday night last weekend with 4-H kids in a Tug-of-War competition:


The tug-of-war was held by the animal barns at the Pope County Fairgrounds.

In other news...the turnout for tonight's Brooten Farmers Market was strong. My family had our best night of the summer. It was great to see the support from out of town and from Belgrade!

And now to August Fest!
The Belgrade August Fest kicked off tonight. Below is a video I got late in the outdoor concert.

Here's Southern Crossroads performing at the Belgrade city park:


They performed under a mix of clouds and sunshine. Such odd weather we are having! I hope you can get to the Belgrade Fire Department's Chicken BBQ supper on Friday night. They serve at the VFW from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.!

For information on the Belgrade August Fest Waffle Feed that's coming on Saturday morning, click here: https://shorturl.at/NX23q. This event is hosted and organized by the B-B-E Scouts Troop No. 667.

Two fairs indeed overlap!

Good grief! I did not realize it, as often I do things at a 100-mph clip, that the Pope County Fair and Stearns County Fair completely overlap one another next week. An eagle-eyed reader of my newspaper asked me about this early Friday morning, and I was basically flat-footed when thinking about it. This is how crazy the month has been. I never got around to actually looking up any information on the Stearns County Fair...I added the full fair schedule for Stearns County in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice and didn't have to lay an eye on it, as it was loaned graciously to me by the Sauk Centre Herald newspaper in what newspaper's call a "camera ready" format. This is a huge, huge thing in the newspaper world, as it means you essentially have no extra work to get it ready for press. You do a "click, click, click" of the mouse and bam!...it's ready for press.

I need to cut this post short and get out in the garden. I'd say within the last 24 hours, the family garden has gone to a moisture deficit and now will need consistent watering until our next rainfall from Mother Nature.

Friday night updates...
In addition to coaching a 3-on-3 team at Kerkhoven Town and Country Days on Saturday, part of this weekend will be dominated by the monumental task of uploading nearly 1,400 Bonanza Valley Days photos from two weeks ago. I got the kick-off event photos uploaded from the BVD Worship in the Park on Thursday, July 11. You can see that album by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/p8tyj.

I have added more summer sports albums to the Bonanza Valley Voice SmugMug online gallery. One just added is also from July 11, when the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team hosted Upsala to conclude their regular 17-U season. This is the link to use to find that album: https://shorturl.at/2suJ7. At the tail end of that album are pictures featuring Coach Funk getting doused by the water cooler by two players.

Our second county fair is underway

The second local county fair is in full swing as of today...this time in Glenwood.

Just a few days after Glenwood hosted a wildly popular Waterama week of activities, the Pope County area is proud to host their 137th annual county fair this weekend through Sunday afternoon.

I know of at least one B-B-E high school student who will be participating in tonight's Birch Coulee Rodeo at the grandstand. That starts at 6:30 p.m. Right now I'm working to update the newspaper's website. One article about the Pope County Fair has been posted, and you can see that by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/2fk3nc2f.

Another article at The Voice website features the outdoor Catholic Mass held on Sunday at Saints Field in Elrosa. It includes a video clip.

Pope County Fair is underway! (VIDEO)

The Pope County Fair in Glenwood is off and running this week through Sunday afternoon. The full schedule of events was published in the July 28 and August 4 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. You can read more about the county fair by clicking on the following short link to re-direct to the newspaper's website: https://bit.ly/3vBmRr9.

Heres a video featuring sights and sounds of the Pope County Fair on August 7, 2021:


More to come. I've still got video from last week's Stearns County Fair to upload.

(VIDEO) Sights and sounds of the Pope County Fair

From the Pope County Fair this past weekend:


Very busy day today.

Day III at the Pope County Fair

Go to the Pope County Fair! 

Catch some videos from the fair at the Bonanza Valley Voice website: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/section/regional.


THANK YOU to Bonanza Valley State Bank for extended advertising support of the Bonanza Valley Voice coverage at the Pope County Fair.

Day II of the Pope County Fair (VIDEOS)

Time to get back to the fair in Glenwood...here's a link where you can see another video from the fair recorded on Thursday afternoon. It's hosted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://bit.ly/3jxkgYI.

Three articles are posted with information and digital content featuring the Pope County Fair; click here to see them all: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. (*A fourth video was added on Saturday afternoon from the horse barrel racing.)

**Here's a video clip from the main 4-H building, which features 4-H projects by area youth:


Day III of the Pope County Fair is Saturday. I hope you and your family can get up there and enjoy!

(VIDEO) Pope County Fair is underway

The Pope County Fair is underway in Glenwood this weekend. It started last night and runs through Saturday night.

Here's a video clip recorded this afternoon in one of the 4-H barns...three of the four kids in this bean bag game are B-B-E Jaguar student athletes:


Read more on what's happening at the Pope County Fair in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. If I remember correctly, the full schedule was published on page 8 this week. I finally got more photos added to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper SmugMug online gallery. You can see that gallery by clicking here (short link) = https://bit.ly/3fB8JpW.

I had the extreme good fortune to visit with B-B-E Class of 2009 graduates Heidi and Shane Weller at the fair. Both were star three-sport athletes at B-B-E throughout their varsity careers. Heidi (Lensing) went on to play Division II volleyball at MSU-Moorhead. They were at the fair tonight with their two children. Shane and their daughter made their way into that above-mentioned photo gallery. Baby Elizabeth just turned one year old in June. Ironically, I also visited with a woman who was a babysitter for the Roy and Sandy Lensing family back in the 1990s: Liz (Heinze) Weidauer. Today she and her family live and operate a livestock farm by Starbuck. Liz is a 1994 B-B-E graduate whose father, David Heinze of Elrosa, just celebrated his 80th birthday. Liz is a tried-and-true "fair mom" whose kids grew up at the fair. Their youngest child will be a senior at Minnewaska Area this next year.

The number ONE...and the FAIR is underway!

And the incredible streak has finally ended. After I expected it to end last week, it instead ended this week as the B-B-E zip codes have their first COVID-19 case since June 17, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Read all about it at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website = https://bit.ly/3CjUaRC.

**Thursday night update:
This week's and last week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper included the full Pope County Fair schedule. I was there this afternoon for a couple hours and enjoyed getting a glimpse of everything offered. Here's a link to The Voice newspaper website to see an archive video from 2019 at the fair, and you can also see the start of a photo gallery from pictures I got today = https://bit.ly/3jpbNH2.

Fair video

Here's a collection of video clips and photos from the Pope County Fair in Glenwood (mostly shot on July 20):


Who's headed to the Stearns County Fair this week/weekend? The full Stearns County Fair schedule is on page five of this week's August 1 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

In other news...
The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team opens the Region 15C tournament tomorrow night (Friday) at 8 p.m. in Farming. Their opponent will be Lake Henry. Additional information on the region tournament was published in today's August 1 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

A high note heading into the weekend

And we end the week on a high note. I've posted some news at the Bonanza Valley Voice website.

Now for a brief stint at the Pope County Fair before the evening begins! The full fair schedule has been printed in the last two issues of the Voice.

Tonight we've got the final showing of 'OZ!' at Terrace (6:30 p.m.) and also the Battle for the Keg in Elrosa with the Saints taking on the Spring Hill amateur baseball team. First pitch in that game is at 8 p.m., and it will be aired on KASM 1150 AM with Randy Rothstein providing play-by-play coverage.

Pope County Fair

The annual Pope County Fair in Glenwood kicks off on Wednesday this week. See the full schedule of events in the July 11 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper on page nine.

Also, a web article has been posted at the Voice website. Please share the link and let others know about the fair! (short link) https://bit.ly/2XIWn8l.

(Video) Raptor Center at the fair

The University of Minnesota Raptor Center was at the Pope County Fair last weekend. They gave a nice presentation and showed a number of raptor animals to fairgoers in the main office building garage. Below is a high-definition video of part of the presentation featuring a bald eagle.


Currently the Kandiyohi County Fair is underway in Willmar. Their fair board had a large advertisement using up almost an entire page in the August 3 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice. We appreciate the support of our hometown newspaper! We will be posting weather-related announcements regarding the Kandiyohi County Fair today and through the weekend.

Below is the schedule plus an advertisement for the Little Theater play "Three Murders, and It's Only Monday" that is directed by B-B-E 1996 graduate Thom Rosengren. You can click on the graphic and enlarge it for best viewing.

Tonight is the Kandiyohi Racing Association (KRA) races at the fairgrounds. I learned this morning that Willmar took a heavy rainfall last night, and the status of the races is currently up in the air.

(HD video) Terrace Mill Children's Musical

Video from last night in Terrace:


I hope some of you reading this have plans to head to the Pope County Fair in Glenwood! THe full schedule was printed in the July 7 and July 14 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

County fairs

Above is an art project submitted by a B-B-E student at the Pope County Fair; it won a Grand Champion prize.

Two area county fairs are underway this weekend: the Pope County Fair in Glenwood and the Stearns County Fair in Sauk Centre. Both fairs draw scores of people from Jaguar Country, and B-B-E students make up a nice contingent of 4-H members in both counties as well.

See you at the fair!

Flower show is underway at Bonanza Valley State Bank, and two county fairs!

The flower show concludes on Friday at the Bonanza Valley State Bank in Brooten.

And I can't miss mentioning that the Kandiyohi County and Pope County fairs are both going on this week and weekend.

Folks from the B-B-E area will be extremely busy this weekend participating and attending the following events: the Region 15C amateur baseball tournament in St. Martin and Farming, the Kandiyohi County Fair in Willmar, the Pope County Fair in Glenwood and the Bel-Fest 125th in Belgrade. I'll be at all of those events except the fair in Willmar.

Uuf Da!

Pope County Fair 4-H Sheep Show

Held on Thursday night...

125th annual Pope County Fair holds Truck and Tractor Pull

Held on Thursday night, August 5 at the Pope County Fairgrounds in Glenwood...

125th annual Pope County Fair is underway in Glenwood

Below, B-B-E students Jared Sorenson, Raeann Sorenson, Allegra Tebrake and Shante Bratsch all show goats at the 4-H show on Thursday afternoon at the Pope County Fair...


To see more about the Pope County Fair and its schedule, visit http://lifeinpopecounty.blogspot.com and http://www.popecountyfair.org

View a photo album of over a hundred pictures from Thursday's activities at the Pope County Fair by clicking here: http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=lifeinpopecounty&P=&AID=6419513&CID=0&T=1&E=Y

Friday is Kids' Day at the Pope County Fair

Pony rides by Oakdale Farm and Orchard are offered for $3 from 11am to 5pm. At noon, a Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Zoo Show will be held on the free stage. A second such type of show will take place at 3pm at the same location.

At 1pm, a prize drawing will be held for kids ages 10 and under at the free stage. The carnival and all its exciting rides opens at 1pm. Carnival armband specials run from 1pm to 5pm and also from 6pm to 10pm.

The Pope County 4-H Project Bowl teams will serve at the Little Red Barn Feed at 4:30pm.

The Truck and Tractor Pull will begin at 6pm in the grandstand. Adult tickets are $15, kids 6-12 are $10 with kids under 6 getting in free.

Saturday, August 6 is Armed Services Day

The 4-H Livestock Auction will be held at 9am on Saturday. The Pope County Farmer's Market will be held on the fairgrounds from 8am to 11am. The Glacial Ridge Cattlemen's Feed takes place at 4:30pm at the Little Red Barn. A U.S. Flag-folding demonstration will be held at 5:30pm on the free stage.

Information about Sunday's activities will be posted on Friday.

This Pope County Fair update is brought to you by:

Oh, boy, this weather is giving me a workout staying up to speed on everything...

**Update at 7:19pm on Friday...The Pope County Fair carnival is underway tonight (kids' rides) and the turnout has been great, according to Fair Board president Paul Koubsky. The Kids' Day is moved to tomorrow, but the donkey races were canceled due to the flooded grandstand.

Koubsky also reported that the grandstand is scheduled to be ready for the Combine Demo Derby on Saturday night.

Also, as stated above, the Kids' Day which was supposed to be today will take place on Saturday, so all the prizes will be given out tomorrow.

See you at the fair!