09/08/2026
Brian and I went to the Calumet County Fair last Friday and had a great time! I know some of you are thinking "oh, it's only the Calumet County Fair and it's not like other county fairs. It's boring." Heard that all before...you know what? Most of you have no clue what it's like to put a festival like that on...it takes major planning. If you want to bring animals, poultry, vegetables, etc., etc. to the fair that all takes time and $$ also!! All around...IT IS A LOT OF WORK!! Many folks don't like to volunteer their time, they say they are TOO BUSY or they want to get out of town for the weekend! Everyone has their plans made. WELL, let me tell you what you missed!!!!
I was asked to get photos at the fair for the Brillion News which I of course said yes to!! I went three of the four days! And I was very happy to see the size of the crowd! Actually, when I went yesterday I was hungry and wanted something to eat before I went home and all of the food lines were LONG! Perfect Weather doesn't hurt!!
Friday we watched the steer(market) and pig judging and that was very interesting. Those steers are some mighty big animals and some of the handlers weren't all that big! To see the build of the animals, how clean and groomed they are and how good they listen to their handlers amazes me! And many can get the animals to stand exactly like they want them to with a show stick, a 3-ft piece of metal (I think) with a little hook at the end. And for many of the animals, that stick calms them down!!
We saw a bit of the Pig Judging and that really floored me! Do you know the handlers have to watch the Judge and their pig as they show them? I could never do that but the handlers looked like pros!
I believe we just missed the poultry judging but there were some awesome looking chickens/roosters to photograph!! The geese and turkeys were making noise and were really some beautiful and unusual looking birds! The rabbits always look so relaxed and there were so many different kinds that I wouldn't know where to start to choose one and show it at the fair. The horses were beautifully groomed and of course most are pretty large and I give credit to anyone who raises them to show! And lastly, the sheep and goats were there crazy selves. You never know what one will do when you walk past it!!
I guess I won't share anything else we did but I want to talk about showing animals & poultry. Anyone who works with them to show them at competitions has to have patience. They are just like humans...some listen, some don't. If their human gets edgy or nervous they also will probably be edgy and nervous. And they need to work with them A LOT!! They spend MUCHO time with them training besides cleaning the pens and cages, feeding and washing/cleaning them. I talked with Garret Carnahan and his stepson Jacoby about showing steers and they get the steer for the 2027 fair in October already! Just think how much feed they consume in that time!! They need a place to keep them and besides all the other activities students are involved in they need to work every day with their animals/poultry!!
Showing animals/poultry at the fair is a great thing! Besides teaching them things they probably wouldn't learn otherwise, they learn responsibility and work ethic. As I talked to Garret and Jacoby about the steers, that seemed to be the most important to Garret. It's nice to see an animal can help you be a little more responsible and be a good worker!!!
Stay tuned tomorrow for more on the 2026 Calumet County Fair and check out my photo album! Some of the photos will make you chuckle!!!
