WHERE NORTH IDAHO GATHERS: Where we learn where food comes from

On a spring morning at the fairgrounds, buses begin to arrive one after another.

Students step off, a little unsure at first, scanning a space that feels different from their classroom.

Within minutes, that hesitation fades. They move from station to station, asking questions and making connections they didn’t know they were missing.

For some of them, it’s the first time they’ve seen where their food begins.

That didn’t happen by accident.

Over time, it came from a shared belief, one carried forward by many but championed in a quiet and steady way by a longtime friend of the fairgrounds and board member Linda Rider. Linda believed that understanding agriculture isn’t just important, but essential. She saw something our community needed, long before most people were talking about it.

In 2015, that belief became the foundation of the Farm to Table program. Each year since, every fifth grader in Kootenai County has been invited to the fairgrounds to experience agriculture in a way that feels real. They meet the people who grow and raise their food. They see the work. They ask questions. And somewhere in that process, something shifts.

They begin to understand that food doesn’t start on a shelf. It starts with people. With land, water and soil. With responsibility. That understanding matters. And it is exactly why places like this matter.

Fairgrounds were never meant to be just a once-a-year destination. They were set aside to ensure agriculture remained part of everyday understanding, a place where communities could gather, learn and stay connected to something essential. In a world that continues to move further away from the land, spaces like this quietly hold that connection in place. Linda understood that.

As a cattle rancher herself, she knew the importance of not only raising quality food but raising awareness. She believed people should have the opportunity to see, firsthand, the work and care behind what sustains them. That belief carried into everything she supported.

Through her involvement in 4-H and her support of the Youth Stock Show and Sale, she firmly stood behind the idea that these programs had purpose. Not just for agriculture, but for the young people they shaped. She believed in creating opportunities where kids could learn responsibility, develop confidence and understand the value of hard work.

During the fair, that same spirit comes to life through Farm Park, a place where learning feels like discovery. Families slow down. Kids engage. Conversations happen naturally. A scavenger hunt leads visitors through pieces of agriculture they might have otherwise passed by.

At the Meet a Farmer dinner, that connection becomes even more personal. Around a shared table, farmers and community members sit side by side, sharing a meal, sharing stories and building understanding in a way that feels both simple and meaningful.

Linda’s work didn’t stop at programs. Through her involvement with Farm Bureau, she supported efforts that would strengthen the future of farming and ranching across Idaho, always thinking about what would come next.

She built with intention. Not for attention. Not for recognition. But for a community she believed in. Even in her final months, she was still showing up, attending a fair convention, continuing to learn and continuing to support the mission of keeping agriculture at the heart of our fairgrounds.

Earlier in December 2025, our community lost Linda. A celebration of her life will be held May 9 at the fairgrounds, a place that reflects so much of what she gave her time and heart to over the years. And yet, in many ways, her work is still unfolding. You can see it in those spring mornings, when students step off buses and begin to understand something new. You can see it in the questions they ask, in the conversations that follow and in the connection that begins to take shape between people and the land that feeds them.

Some lessons are easy to overlook. Others stay with you.

And here, we are still making sure those lessons are not lost.

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Alexcia Jordan is the general manager and CEO of the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, home of the North Idaho State Fair and Rodeo. Alexcia has dedicated her career to fairs, agriculture and community engagement and has more than 20 years of experience in leadership, marketing and event management. She is passionate about preserving tradition while building a strong future for North Idaho’s fairgrounds and the generations it serves.