The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - Expect the unexpected this year at the Columbia County Fair. That's the advice fair manager Shane Laib has for the roughly 5,000 people he predicts will attend this year's 120th anniversary event.

"Assume nothing," Laib said Monday, as he and dozens of others began work to prepare the fairgrounds for opening this Friday. "Some c omp o - nent of virtually every part of the fair will be different this year."

This is Laib's first year as fair manager, but he's been busy. Together with a smaller, more active fair board, Laib has "reinvented"

the dying Columbia County Fair.

"The general feeling based on last year

was that

if we didn't do something big, make some big changes, (the fair) wasn't going to make it," Laib said. "It was time for a fresh look, fresh energy and new enthusiasm."

The board has fought rumors from Pomeroy to Walla Walla saying Dayton was shutting down its fair.

"Nope," Laib said. "We're having a great fair."

Laib's boldest move was to bring rodeo back to the fair in the form of the Denim OR Dust Bull Bash, which takes place Saturday night in the main arena. "This will be the signature event of the fair this year," Laib predicted, saying bull riding was the most popular part of the fair when he was a child growing up in Dayton. "But somewhere along the way, the board let it go." Dayton Days presents rodeo every year, but nobody can remember when the last bull riding event took place at the fair, Laib said. And although the cost to bring it back - $15,000 for one evening show - shocked board members, they told Laib if he could finda way to afford it, they would support the move.

With a surprise, anony­mous donation of thousands and a wealth of corporate sponsorship, together with in-kind donations, Laib and his team were able to pull it off. Twenty-eight cowboys will ride into town this week­end to pit their strength and skill against bulls arriving from BD Rodeo Company, out of Oregon, on Friday. Each cowboy gets one ride, and the top six cowboys turn back for a championship round. The best ride out of that match will be the first-ever Bull Bash Champion, Laib said. The fair board will present the winning cowboy with a belt buckle engraved just for the occasion. The event begins at 6:45 p.m. Saturday with mutton bustin', where six to 12 local kids will try their hand at rid­ing sheep in the arena. These are usually four-second rides, and top scorers will take home special belt buckles and bandanas. Children must be between the ages of 5 and 7 and weigh less than 60 pounds to participate. The Columbia County Fair opens at 9 a.m. on Fri­day, Sept. 10, and continues through Sunday, Sept. 12 at 5 p.m. Three-day passes are available at the gate. Daily admission for children under 6 is free, ages 7-12 is $3, 13 and older is $5, and seniors are $5. Friday is Senior Day and admission for seniors is $4.

Friday highlights include: KidZone games and activi­ties open all day; various en­tertainment on the Columbia REA stage including Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue all day; 6:45 p.m. Tribute to the Legends concert in the main arena ($7 all ages, time sub­ject to change).

Saturday highlights in­clude: KidZone games and activities open all day; 9 a.m. FFA and 4-H judging con­test; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 4-H dog and cat show; 4-H and FFA Livestock Sale at 12:30 p.m.; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. World Famous Barbecue; 7 p.m. Denim OR Dust Bull Bash in the main arena ($10 grand­stands/$

15 arena floor, all ages); 9-11 p.m. street dance featuring CountrySide Ride.

Sunday highlights in­clude: KidZone games and activities open all day; vari­ous

entertainment on the Columbia REA stage from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and the Rip Roarin' MotoCross at 1 p.m. in the main arena ($5 all ages). For more information about the fair, call 509-382-4825 or 509-629-1354.