Fair

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festive

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By GUY PRIEL

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Despite the heat on Sunday, the mood at the Brown County Fair was festive and alive, especially under the entertainment tent, where the mood was more fest than fair.

Most of the midway rides fell silent throughout the day Sunday, but the Bockfest Boys kept the fair alive with their unique blend of German and American tunes, as the beer flowed.

Those in attendance were celebrating 140 years of New Ulm's own Schell's Beer, which will hold an official celebration on Aug. 26, complete with a wooden beer stein carved with a chainsaw by Jeff Zinniel of Sleepy Eye.

The Sunday event was the Brown County Fair's way of honoring the brewery for its contributions to the community, said fair board President Renee Retzlaff said.

"We gave away a lot of prizes today," Retzlaff said. "We specified that prizes would be given to those with Schell's memorabilia. I've seen a lot of Schell's things from the '50s and '60s. There are a lot of pleased Schell's fans out here today."

Overall, the fair enjoyed a successful four-day run, with the amount of money received increasing over last year, she said.

"Attendance was light yesterday and the midway is fairly quiet today, but we have a full crowd here in the beer tent," she said. "We are very pleased with the way things have gone. We had a tremendous crowd for the demo derby (Saturday) night."

Fair officials tried some new things and brought back some old things, which was part of the success factor this year, Retzlaff said.

"We received a lot of good comments from people," she said. "Some people even called the office and told us how impressed they were with different things. We usually hear the bad things, but have heard some good things from people."

One of Sunday's highlights was an open horse show. It featured a variety of skills for various types of horses and participants of all ages.

"I have always enjoyed the horse show at the fair," Melissa Parker of rural Winthrop said. "I got here early to guarantee my spot. I am really impressed with the talent displayed by the people in the show."

Throughout the afternoon, crowds also gathered at the grandstand for the antique tractor pull. The competition drew contestants from all over the county demonstrating how much weight their tractors can pull.

"It's hard to believe that these old tractors have that much energy left in them," Ron Wilfahrt of rural Hanska said. "While growing up, I remember the old tractor that sat in our field. My dad always used the newer tractors. Makes me wonder if his old tractor would be able to pull that kind of weight now."