Broadwater County Fair Board finalizes program details, recommends county appointment and considers escape-room booking

The Broadwater County Fair Board approved minutes from its March 13 meeting, recommended a candidate to the County Commission for the radio-board liaison slot and spent much of its latest meeting on fair planning for August — from open-class rules and judges’ fees to sponsorship vouchers and entertainment options including a proposed commercial escape-room installation.

Board business matters took place at the start of the meeting. A motion to approve the March 13 minutes was moved and seconded and approved on an oral vote. Later, the board moved, seconded and voted to forward a letter of interest for a radio-board liaison to the County Commission for approval; board members said that recommendation will appear on the commission’s consent agenda.

Those procedural items led into a lengthy review of fair logistics. Board members discussed edits to the fair book for the open-class competitions, new contests and judging procedures, vendor solicitations and sponsorship benefits. The board debated fees and logistics for small-animal judges, new advertising trade proposals and a $5-per-voucher “country cash” system for sponsor benefits. The board also moved and seconded a motion to contract with Escape Room Parties of Montana for an on-site commercial escape-room attraction in the convention/commercial building during the fair; the transcript records the motion and a second but does not include a recorded vote.

Open-class and judging changes

Tayla (board member) reported that the open-class superintendents are working edits for this year’s fair book, including replacing last year’s boot-decorating contest with a “blue jean” contest open to any item made from blue jean material and allowing day-of entries without preregistration. The board agreed to relax some entry counts for fruit categories to reflect local growing conditions and to increase the number of flower entries to encourage more submissions.

Members also discussed the small-animal show schedule changes. The livestock committee split small-animal judging by species this year, which increases judge fees and mileage costs. Board members said the fair board will pay judges; the proposed pay structure discussed in the meeting was $100 for the small-animal judge and $75 for a rabbit-specific judge, an increase of roughly $50 plus mileage compared with prior practice. The board referenced the county mileage reimbursement rate at about $0.70–$0.71 per mile when estimating added costs.

Vendors, sponsorships and vouchers

The board said vendor letters for food and commercial booths will be distributed soon. Members reported two confirmed new food vendors and that at least one vendor from last year will not return due to a date conflict. The board also discussed a trade proposal from MTN 43 News offering free advertising in exchange for fairbook placement and signage in the rodeo arena; board members said the rodeo board and fair board would handle that as a trade if the sponsorship level fits their publicity plans.

Jess (board member) described a new sponsor-voucher program the board plans to roll out: Best-of-Show sponsors would receive $40 in vouchers, Purple Ribbon sponsors $30 and Blue Ribbon sponsors $15. Vouchers are redeemable at any vendor during the 2025 Broadwater County Fair and Rodeo; each voucher is worth $5 and will be serial-numbered so the board can track redemptions. Members discussed making voucher acceptance a condition of vendor participation.

Entertainment, inflatables and a proposed escape-room installation

Board members reviewed the entertainment schedule and pending confirmations. The group discussed returning performers and smaller attractions such as painting parties and children’s activities. They also reviewed inflatable-rental options, costs and staffing: the large commercial inflatables used in prior years include a generator and vendor staff but are costly (roughly $1,100 for a typical five-hour rental), while a smaller local inflatable option could cost about $200 total for multiple days and might require local staffing or a small stipend.

On a larger change, Sheila (board member) moved and the board seconded a motion to book Escape Room Parties of Montana to set up one or more staffed commercial escape rooms in the commercial building during the fair. The vendor’s quoted total for two days (a Friday afternoon and Saturday) was discussed at roughly $2,950 plus an overnight/hotel fee for the crew and a variable diesel surcharge tied to fuel prices. Board members debated whether to charge admission (various price scenarios were discussed, including family/group pricing and age-based rates), possible capacity limits (10 players per session) and how to advertise the attraction in the fair book. The transcript records the motion and second but does not include a recorded vote or formal approval in the minutes.

Joint planning with rodeo and 4-H; site logistics

The board reported on a joint meeting with the rodeo board and 4-H. Shared costs and logistics were on the agenda: split costs for cleaning and restroom attendants, potential joint advertising and ATMs, and technical support such as sound-system sharing between arenas. The boards discussed parking and camping, including the possibility of using airport property depending on the airport’s runway resurfacing timeline. The rodeo board indicated it will display saddles in the 4-H building and said it purchased a new mower; the fair board discussed options to transfer the current mower to county maintenance, list it as surplus if the county declines, or sell it (a motion to sell the mower was made in the meeting; no recorded outcome appears in the transcript).

Budget and next steps

Board members said judge-fee increases and a potential escape-room contract would be covered in next year’s budget or adjusted by moving funds within the fair budget where needed. The board set a timeline for fair preparations: decorating on Monday, Aug. 4; open-class judging on Aug. 6; and teardown on Aug. 10. Members were assigned tasks for vendor outreach, sponsor follow-up and finalizing entertainment confirmations; the board scheduled its next meeting for May 8 at 5:15 p.m. in the Flynn Building.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes (March 13): Motion moved and seconded; outcome: approved (oral aye vote recorded). - Recommendation of radio-board liaison candidate to County Commission: Motion moved and seconded; outcome: approved (oral aye vote recorded). The board noted the commission must formally approve the appointment, expected on the consent agenda.

Ending

Board members closed the meeting after confirming the May 8 meeting date and several task assignments. Several operational follow-ups remain: distributing vendor letters, sending sponsor materials and confirming entertainment and judge contracts ahead of the August fair.