Okanogan County fair officials scramble to fix fair schedule after livestock coordinator resigns

With one week left before Okanogan County’s fair, organizers told the Board of County Commissioners that the livestock coordinator has resigned effective immediately, leaving the fair with no designated livestock coordinator and several last-minute logistics to resolve. The change prompted county staff and volunteers to scramble to confirm buyers for market animals, find veterinary support and reassign responsibilities for check-in and quarantine procedures. Commissioners and staff said they would help recruit temporary volunteers and contact known buyers to make sure animals sold at the fair have outlets. The absence of a coordinator also exposed gaps in communication between the fair advisory committee, volunteer superintendents and fair office staff, commissioners said. That gap contributed to confusion this month over some contests being moved from Saturday to Sunday and whether youth entrants would still receive premium points from the show vendor. County staff said they were working to preserve the priority for youth events in the schedule. Nick (fair operations staff) and Larissa (fair office staff) told the board they would try to rearrange adult exhibition events to Friday or Sunday and run double timing on single-lane horse events so youth competitions could take precedence. Commissioners said the county’s role is to support the youth-first priority but not to take over event operations. Meanwhile, staff alerted the board that a previously requested fee waiver for a multi-day commercial event at the fairgrounds — Big Fix — had been discussed and separated into weekday and weekend contracts so the county could approve a weekday fee reduction while billing the weekend at the normal weekend rate. The waiver for weekday use was prepared for placement on the consent agenda after staff clarified contract dates and the split between weekday and weekend billing. The board approved a motion earlier in the meeting to authorize a 100% weekday fee reduction for that event’s midweek dates while keeping the weekend billed at the published rate. Commissioners directed staff to complete separate contracts (one for the Tuesday–Friday block and a second for the weekend) and to ensure the arrangement complies with county policy and audit transparency. Ending: County staff said they would issue an all-staff call for volunteer help, contact known livestock buyers (names on file with the fair office), and circulate a clarified schedule to prevent further public confusion. The board said it expects an update after a scheduled working meeting with fair staff and event organizers midweek.