With a little more than three weeks to go until the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo, officials and staff with the Flathead County Fairgrounds and other stakeholders are still brainstorming how some of the larger scheduled events can still occur with proper COVID-19 social distancing and sanitation guidelines.

Fairgrounds Manager Mark Campbell and Fair Board members expressed concerns regarding the rodeo during a special public meeting Thursday evening. Chief among those concerns was the sheer size of the event, both in terms of attendance and contestants.

“Contestant counts are exploding as more people look for opportunities to compete,” Campbell said. He said because other counties have either greatly reduced the size of their fairs and rodeos or have canceled them all together, it is likely contestants will travel from near and far to participate in this one.

Campbell said the rodeo normally attracts around 250 contestants who are all generally able to compete in one large rodeo. However, this year they expect that number to be closer to 500 to 700 contestants.

According to Campbell, right now they are looking at running the contestants in a “slack format.” That means instead of having one large “performance rodeo,” which typically includes show elements such as rodeo clowns and other performances, the contestants will instead compete in their events on separate days in smaller numbers, sans those “performance elements.”

In other rodeo news, the board also voted Thursday to switch rodeo companies at the last minute.

Board member Doug Wise said he was concerned about the initial company’s lack of communication with fairgrounds staff and the board. He then said a competing rodeo company out of Colorado had expressed interest in recent weeks and he felt that company was eager to communicate and expressed more professionalism. The board ultimately voted to terminate the original contract and offer a new one to the Colorado-based company.

Aside from the rodeo, Campbell also said details of the concert are still being worked out.

Although the event is still scheduled to occur — albeit with modifications to grandstand capacity and plans to dismiss attendees row by row to avoid congestion afterwards — he said they are unsure how to ensure social distancing in the “party pit” at the front of the stage.

WHILE OFFICIALS made it clear there is still work to be done before opening day, fairgrounds staff also went over updates on sanitation, fairgrounds capacity and foot traffic flow.

Staff are placing signs through the fairgrounds, laying out plans for floor mapping to avoid congestion in certain areas such as the livestock barns, and have set up 60 hand-washing stations. Additional seating areas have been established so picnic and dining tables are distanced as well.

As for carnival rides, Campbell said the company is coming in earlier than usual so it can set up the rides and make sure everything is fully sanitized. While there are usually around 30 rides, this year there will be closer to 20. Campbell said there will be no wristbands as the company has moved to a touchless ticketing system and riders will be required to sanitize their hands before getting on the ride and when getting off.

In addition to these measures, Campbell also said “if at any time our plan is not working,” they will shut the front gates and limit entry to the fair. One fairgrounds employee at the meeting said ticketing has already been limited for various events and although there is concern of people traveling to the event from outside Flathead County, she said the majority of tickets sold thus far were sold to Kalispell-area individuals.

Campbell added that masks are required in the fairgrounds, with very few exceptions, but he is unsure yet as to how that rule will be enforced, should someone decide to take their face mask off after entering the gates.

At the board meeting, a handful of individuals thanked Campbell and the board for their efforts to keep the fair afloat despite other fairs being canceled, with one woman saying “from the 4-H community, we want to say thank-you for making this happen.”

Throughout the meeting Campbell elaborated on how the fair is a valuable learning opportunity for youth who wish to showcase and sell their livestock. At one point he said, “the most important thing is the educational portion of this fair, for the kids in our community.”

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com