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Sanders County Fairgrounds Zoopraxiscope*

This is our gallery of photos, video links and and anything else of an artistic nature contributed by our event patrons.

Welcome to the Sanders County Fairgrounds located just outside of Plains, Montana in the beautiful Clark Fork River Valley. Our northerly flowing river keeps things rather climate for this part of the country. The fairgrounds are situated on the banks of the river and there are picnic areas, camping areas and river access under the shade of cottonwoods. Sign posts in town on Highway 200 point the way west of town and over the bridge. With 1940's style exhibit barns, a well maintained arena and a family oriented carnival, the Sanders County Fair is one of the showcases of our community. The grounds also host a number of other events throughout the year, both public and private.

All during the week leading up to the fair, exhibits are arriving on the grounds with judging occuring on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There are many fun photos of our exhibitors on the open class pages, including some of our 4-H stars.
The Caranival Begins on Thursday and runs through Sunday night with a focus on a family atmosphere.

Each year the Sanders County Fair hosts a number of western style rodeo events. For a number of years Powder River Rodeo LLC has been the producer of our rodeos and bull riding events. We often schedule events for the youngsters including mutten busting and steer riding, and have had the pleasure of being entertained by the Rocky Mountain Mini-buckers, a junior rodeo. Sanders County is still cattle country and from the exhibit barns to the main arena, we celebrate our deep western heritage.

Sanders County isn't all cowboys and great apple pies! Each year at fair time we host a sell-out demolition derby as our closing event. We invite anyone to participate as long as we have slots available. There is even a powder puff heat! One of the largest demo derbies in the area, it's an event that enthusiasts won't want to miss.!

U tube Video of 2010 Demo Derby, Plains Montana (Approximately 5 1/2 mintues long).
Produced by the Broken News of Thompson Falls

Utube Video of the Sanders County Fair and Carnival - 2010
Produced by the Broken News of Thompson Falls

Utube Video of Livestock competitions and the PRCA Rodeo, Sanders County Fair 2010
Produced by Cody Best and Justin Harris of Thompson Falls

*As an historical note: The Zoopraxiscope was developed by Mr. Mubridge in England and was first used in 1879 to provide some of the first moving pictures. He used disks that turned against a backlight which made still photos appear to be animated. The pictures were viewed through a slit in the machine (the original meaning of peep show!). His photography finally proved that a horse at full gallop had all four feet off the ground. A similar machine was patented by William Lincoln in the United States in 1867. The Sanders County Fairgrounds is always looking for ways to more efficiently serve its patrons, including the best technology available for an organization of our type and size; however, we also choose to remember our long heritage and the path we traveled to reach our place in Montana History.