SUMMER FUN FOR EVERYONE

Fun for Everyone at the Brown County Fair

The Aberdeen Fairgrounds makes room for the annual fair in August, bringing back traditional elements and adding new features.

by JOSIE CLEMENS

The Brown County Fair is no mystery to Aberdeen. From live entertainment to open class livestock to greasy food to home arts exhibits, the fair is guaranteed to fit everyone’s fun-filled agenda.

Set for August 16 through 22, the fun-foreveryone, end-of-the-summer event is highly anticipated not only by the people of Aberdeen, but also by people across the state.

“We’re always looking for the next thing we can improve to implement to make the fair better,” Interim Manager Sonje Oban said.

While a large part of the fair is to bring new and exciting features to keep the public interested, the fair board still wants to stay true to tradition with the livestock events, home art competitions, camping, vendors, and some of the best concerts in the area.

So, what can you all expect for the 2021 Brown County Fair?

The Grandstand entertainment is packed with unbeatable entertainment starting with two nights of the Dacotah Bank Stampede Rodeo, continuing with top artists in various genres including country, rock, and hip hop, and finishing with the Antique Tractor pull. For a detailed version of the Grandstand schedule of events and artist biographies, visit www.bcfair.com.

Three tents will be set up—Ken’s Family Tent, Kessler’s Big Top Tent, and NVC Tent—for free entertainment all week long. In those tents, people can enjoy the Area Federal Credit Union Rising Star Competition talent contest, bingo, musicians and bands, hypnotists, Minute to Win It, root beer float feeds, and local entertainment.

For the people who love to browse, shopping will be available in the Holum Expo building and the Odde Ice Arena, and some vendors can be located outside around the fairgrounds on Machinery Row to the east of the carnival and south of the Odde Ice Arena.

Grandstand Schedule

Dacotah Bank Stampede Rodeo

Monday (16) and Tuesday (17) at 7:00 PM

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Sara Evans

Wednesday (18) at 8:00 PM

Eli Young Band and Randy Houser

Thursday (19) at 8:00 PM

Daughtry and Black Stone Cherry

Friday (20) at 8:00 PM

Jo Dee Messina, Michael Ray, and Nelly

Saturday (21) at 8:00 PM

Antique Tractor Pull

Sunday (22) at 1:00 PM

The carnival, another major staple for the fair, will host 30 rides for those seeking a rush of adrenaline. If you don’t have a need for speed, wander around the prize booths for familyfriendly games.

For the families looking for activities for children, the Sanford Kid’s Zone has free activities for youth of all ages: a petting zoo, game-show style contests, and coloring pages.

Fairgoers can expect the usual fair favorites from the food vendors like the large corn dogs, fresh fries, flavorful funnel cake, Tubby’s Burgers, and sweet rolled ice cream. But people should expect more variety from the 2021 fair.

New food that will make an appearance at the 2021 fair includes Happi Lao Foods with egg rolls, rangoons, Laotian fried rice, noodles, spring rolls, and more. Boki European Street Food will bring paella and piada plates, and wood fire pizza is making a comeback.

Last but not least, people can satisfy their sweet tooth by checking out the new dessert stand: “Just Your Desserts.” If you are looking for ice cream cones to cool you off in the hot August weather or wanting something richer with chocolate-dipped fruits and desserts or need a simple parfait, this new vendor will be the place to go.

A few hidden gems that people should watch for in this year’s fair is the Agriculture education feature in the Odde Ice Arena with the interactive exhibit and a new area where children can write letters to farmers, cooking demonstrations in the Home Arts building on August 18, and pie/ cheesecake contest on August 21.

“We strive to provide a wallet-friendly experience that encourages people to come back for more than one day,” Sonje said. “We try to book unique vendors and entertainment so that our fairgoers are seeing something unique every time they walk the grounds.”

The 2021 Brown County Fair will not disappoint, so be sure to check out all there is to offer starting August 16. If anyone has questions or would like to volunteer, call 605-626-7116.//

A Note from the 2021 Fair Board President

➼ My name is Tom Paepke, and I was honored to be elected Fair Board President in October 2019. Due to the postponement of the 2020 Brown County Fair, the members of the Fair Board have given me the opportunity to serve as president for the 2021 fair. I live in Groton on a farm close to Ferney, and my wife, Barb, and I have been long-time supporters of the Brown County Fair. This is actually my second round of serving on the Fair Board. I previously served from 1998 to 2003. The reason I became a board member was that I enjoy working with people and giving back to my communities. It amazes me how twenty-plus people of various ages, experience, and backgrounds can work together for a common goal of putting on a successful fair for Brown County.

My favorite area of the fair is watching the youth share and show projects that they have worked on all year long. They are our future board members, and we need to continue to encourage all of them in their endeavors.

After suspending the 2020 fair, the members of the fair board have worked diligently to make the 2021 Brown County Fair bigger and better. We encourage everyone to come out August 16 through 22 and see what’s new. We start the fair off with an exciting rodeo produced by Sutton Rodeos on Monday and Tuesday. The fair carries on with delicious and traditional fair food, various vendors, 4-H and open class exhibits and shows, and at the end of the week, some great concerts.

We look forward to seeing you in August! Tom Paepke, Fair Board President 2021

www.aberdeensd.com/therightmove » 605-225-2860

A WHOLE NEW

BALL GAME Seventh-grader Joe Cogley started a wiffle ball league last summer, and it’s a hit with the youth.

 Photo courtesy Abby Cogley.

by SYMMONE GAUER

Joe Cogley, a seventh grader at Roncalli, first thought of the idea last summer while watching YouTube videos of people playing wiffle ball. With the pandemic limiting options for sports, a league seemed to be just the thing to make the summer a little more exciting.

“I said to my mom, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to start one in Aberdeen?’” Joe said.

With his mom’s help, Joe founded and commissioned the Aberdeen Wiffle Ball League. About 50 children joined the league after Joe’s mom, Abby, created a Facebook group to spread the word about his idea. Each captain chooses their own team of three to five people, and teams are able to pick their team’s name. Joe’s team is the Octopi.

Each team also gets to design its own t-shirts. Quality Quick Print in Aberdeen helped with creating the logo they used on shirts and banners for the league.

Last year, there were eight teams, but Joe is really hoping to make 16 teams this summer and said they have already had a few more people interested.

“Tom and I were very supportive of Joe’s desires to start this wiffle ball league because it allowed for a creative outlet for his ideas in a fun and safe manner that would build community,” Abby said. She also says a childled league is important because it teaches them opportunities for organization, compromise, conflict management, and self-expression.

Joe’s whole family is very supportive. Joe’s dad, Tom, also helps Joe practice and perfect his pitches.

“He’ll play wiffle ball in the backyard with me,” Joe said. Last year, his sister Grace even helped out the league by selling popsicles at concessions for the games.

The Cogleys are playing it by ear, but Joe said he hopes to keep the league going for as long as possible.

This year the league is open for anyone ages 10 through 15. When he gets older and there are not as many children his age to play it, Joe’s dream is to move the age bracket back down and continue to act as a manager.

“Hopefully my brothers will want to play then,” he said. Joe has three younger brothers, Gabe (6), James (4), and John (2), along with his two sisters, Grace (10) and Felicity (9).

Joe, who will turn 13 in August, enjoys watching baseball, looking up stats online, playing video games, and reading in his free time. He also likes playing baseball and basketball, but he said baseball is his favorite.

Wiffle ball is similar to baseball, but there are twists in the game that make it uniquely fun. Home runs are easier to hit, there is an element of dodgeball within the game, and the design of the wiffle ball makes it possible to experiment with different pitches.

“I like getting to know the pitches in your opponent’s arsenal and trying to guess what they’ll throw,” Joe said.

He spent hours coming up with his slider and fastball. Some pitches were so fast last year that they were nearly impossible to hit, which led to Joe enacting a 50 mph limit for the league - still fast, but manageable.

Joe points out that the playoffs are also really fun, and this year they are planning for 19 games to leave room for more teams to join.

The league organization day will be July 14, and the first game is July 21 to allow state baseball to finish its final games. The season will go through August 22. Games are on Sundays at 1:00 PM and Wednesdays at 6:00 PM at the Roncalli High School northeast lot.

“The best part about everything is seeing the other teams getting to play what I made,” Joe said. //  Kids who are interested can sign up as a team or a single person on the ‘AWL Wiffle Ball’ Facebook page by July 13.