The sawdust shavings have finally settled on another year at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo, the young exhibitors have finally caught up on sleep and ribbons have been tallied.  

Bigfork's two local 4-H clubs — Swan River Buttons and Bows and the newly minted Riverbend Roots and Shoots — brought their best to the fairgrounds in Kalispell and took home accolades in an array of projects from livestock to photography and baking.  

For Flathead Valley 4-Hers, the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo is the week around which the entire year revolves, when months of hard work are put to the test in a flurry of late nights and early mornings.  

"It was my first year in 4-H, and I had a blast participating in the Northwest Montana Fair," Riverbend Roots and Shoots member Zoe Allen said.  

Allen brought her chickens to the fair and took home Senior Reserve Grand Champion in poultry showmanship.  

"My experience made me want to continue for as long as possible. I love the environment and how nice everyone is. Fair was an experience I'll never forget!" 

Even as agriculture in the valley shrinks, with farmland becoming new developments, the fair still offers a central place for 4-H students to showcase the hard work and discipline required by an agricultural life. 

"I'm really proud of our club," Riverbend Roots and Shoots President Luke Foster said. "We not only won different awards in lots of events, but we kept all our sections clean. For being a new club, I think we were very successful." 

The animals often steal the show, with fair visitors drawn to the horses, pigs, cows, goats and sheep that fill the barns. The students who own these animals spend months or even years raising their projects, feeding animals and pitching out stalls in the heat of summer and breaking ice on water buckets in the dead of winter.  

Some animals will return home to the farm at the end of the week, and others will be sold as part of the Livestock Show and Sale, where local businesses bid on market projects to support the students who raised them.  

There are other projects scattered throughout the barns at the fairgrounds that 4-Hers have worked to master throughout the year. Swan River Buttons and Bows members Ashley and Bailey Kleffner created whimsical displays for the egg decorating contest, while Riverbend Roots and Shoots member Mary McGillvray devoted herself to perfecting her recipe for lavender tea cookies.  

At the end of the week, regardless of the ribbons earned, every 4-Her left with new memories, new friends and the satisfaction of a job well done.  

"The fair taught me that putting hard work into my goals pays off," Riverbend Roots and Shoots member Autumn Clouse said.  

Swan River Buttons and Bows 4-H Club results: 

Alex Malison — Red Ribbon in Woodworking 

Ethan Malison — Red Ribbon in Woodworking 

Kierra Stein — Reserve Champion Horse Poster, Red Ribbon Junior Novice Horsemanship, Blue Ribbon in Photography, First Place Junior Quilting, First Place Junior Sewing, First Place Junior Crochet 

Ashley Kleffner — Grand Champion Junior Egg Decorating, Grand Champion Junior Educational Poster, Grand Champion Junior Novice Poultry Showmanship 

Bailey Kleffner — Reserve Champion Junior Egg Decorating, First Place Junior Novice Poultry Showmanship, First Place Junior Educational Poster 

Riverbend Roots and Shoots 4-H Club results: 

Autumn Clouse — Fourth Place Junior Novice Beef Showmanship. Her market steer was purchased by Siderius Construction at the Livestock Show and Sale  

Connor Foster — Market hog purchased by Super 1 was the Livestock Show and Sale 

Luke Foster — Market hog purchased by Fidelity Title at the Livestock Show and Sale 

Bridger Foster — Market Hog purchased by Glacier Bank at the Livestock Show and Sale 

Mary McGillvray — Best of Show for lemon lavender tea cookies 

Zoe Allen — Reserve Champion Senior Poultry Showmanship 

Ella Stahl — Grand Champion Junior Novice Canine Obedience, Reserve Champion Freestyle with border collie Chief 

Reporter Elsa Ericksen can be reached at 406-758-4459 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.

    Swan River Buttons and Bows members Ashley and Bailey Kleffner with their chickens at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo. (Courtesy Swan River Buttons and Bows 4-H Club)

    Riverbend Roots and Shoots member Ella Stahl with her border collie Chief at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo. (Courtesy Riverbend Roots and Shoots 4-H Club)
  

    Riverbend Roots and Shoots member Luke Foster with his market hog at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo. (Courtesy Riverbend Roots and Shoots 4-H Club)
  

    Swan River Buttons and Bows member Ashley Kleffner's Grand Champion educational poster at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo. (Courtesy Swan River Buttons and Bows 4-H Club)
  

    Riverbend Roots and Shoots member Zoe Allen with her Reserve Champion chicken at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo. (Courtesy Riverbend Roots and Shoots 4-H Club)
  

    Swan River Buttons and Bows member Bailey Kleffner's Reserve Champion display in the egg decorating contest at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo. (Courtesy Swan River Buttons and Bows 4-H Club)
  

    Swan River Buttons and Bows member Gwen Russell shows her goat at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo. (Courtesy Swan River Buttons and Bows 4-H Club)
  

    Riverbend Roots and Shoots member Connor Foster sells his 242-pound hog at the Livestock Show and Sale during the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo. (Courtesy Riverbend Roots and Shoots 4-H Club)