It's a wrap
BILL BULEY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 7 months AGO
All-Alaskan racing pigs fly over a hurdle at this year's North Idaho State Fair. The pigs were a crowd favorite.
Photo by Kevin Dockter
Bill Buley covers the city of Coeur d'Alene for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has worked here since January 2020, after spending seven years on Kauai as editor-in-chief of The Garden Island newspaper. He enjoys running. | August 30, 2023 1:08 AM
COEUR d'ALENE — Pigs almost did fly at the North Idaho State Fair.
And even when they were just being normal, spring-tailed ground-grunters, they were still a crowd favorite.
"The pig races were so great," said Alexcia Jordan, fair general manager.
The All-Alaskan racing pigs drew big crowds for their daily performances that saw tiny legs hoofing it around a small oval course and hopping hurdles.
"I'd love to bring them back in the future," Jordan said Tuesday.
The 10-day North Idaho Fair wrapped up Sunday with its second-best attendance on record at 157,130. That was down 7% from last year's record of 168,567, but up from about 154,000 in 2021.
Jordan said the smoke and rain for the five days kept things quieter, but the last five days were great, and conditions were good for the rodeo.
"Not everyone wanted to play in it, but we needed the rain," she said.
So busy was Saturday night that they sold out parking prior to the arena show, which created a traffic problem as drivers searched for spots.
"We did the best we could to overflow into various lots around us that weren't being used," Jordan said.
The fair also shuttled people back to their cars that night, for which they earned high praise from guests.
Jordan said she was grateful the weather held up, crowds arrived and vendors had strong sales.
"To see everyone coming out and enjoying what we put together made my whole day," she said.
While signs of the fair disappeared Monday and Tuesday at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, Jordan said plans are already underway for next year.
She said they'll stick with the 10-day format and will review things to learn where they can improve.
But, overall, she and her team were happy with this year's fair.
"I think we have one of the best around," Jordan said.
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