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Small-town fair offers slice of AmericanaSmall-town fair offers slice of Americana

Parade, ranch rodeo among happy scenes as fairgoers bid farewell to summer.

Tim Hearden, Western Farm Press

September 2, 2019

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Fire trucks make their way down State Highway 299 in McArthur, Calif., for the parade as part of the town's annual Inter-Mountain Fair.Tim Hearden

Nothing offers a unique slice of Americana like the small-town fair, where flags wave, children scream with delight, live music serenades a happy crowd and troops and first responders are thanked and honored for their service.

Among the countless activities across the country on Labor Day weekend -- the traditional (if not actual) end of summer -- was the annual Inter-Mountain Fair in tiny McArthur (population 338), a rural ranching community in the high country of northeastern California.

With the theme, "Country Skies and Family Ties," the fair held Thursday through Monday included the kinds of things that make a little country fair unique -- queen and Little Miss coronations, a "Farm Games" competition, clowns and stilt-walkers, a destruction derby and, of course, numerous livestock showings and contests leading up to Monday morning's junior livestock auction in the sale barn.

People flocked from throughout Northern California on Sunday for two of the fair's marquee events -- a noon parade down Main Street and an afternoon calf-branding and roping contest in which area ranches compete. Incidentally, McArthur's main street doubles as State Highway 299, and at least a couple of unsuspecting motorists were none too pleased about having to take the dirt-road detour around the parade on their way from Redding or Burney to Alturas, near the Oregon state line.

Here are some of the sights from the fair.

About the Author

Tim Hearden

Western Farm Press

Tim Hearden is a more than 35-year veteran of agricultural, government and community journalism. He came to Farm Progress in 2018 after a nine-year stint as the California field reporter for Capital Press, an agribusiness newspaper. He spent 20 years as a reporter for daily newspapers, winning California News Publishing Association awards for reporting on flooding and drought for the Napa Valley Register and Redding Record Searchlight, respectively. He is active in North American Agricultural Journalists, a professional organization.

“I believe publications like Farm Press are the future of news and information media,” Hearden said. “People are hungry for thorough, accurate and even-handed reporting from sources that understand and respect their way of life. Ag media is one of the most vibrant and robust sectors in media, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

A lifelong Californian, Hearden lives in Redding, Calif., with his wife, Sara, a preschool teacher and third-generation Shasta County resident.

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