Submitted Photo Paula Jelsing and Greg Berginski prepare food at the Rugby Eagles Club for the hotdish challenge on March 14. Photo by Don Jelsing.

The Pierce County Fair Fundraiser held March 14 at the Eagles Club came and went for those of you who missed it.

The Pierce County Fair Board members and volunteers hosted the fundraiser with a hotdish challenge, and finished the evening with Milford Yonder as the auctioneer at the live auction.

Over 150 people showed up to taste test every hotdish and dessert brought in by contestants. The judges tasted 42 dishes that were entered in the challenge. Don Jelsing was busy keeping the energy moving amongst the gatherers and participating in the live fun as people from the community strolled in. There were no animals in the yard, only tables, chairs, plates, silverware and lots of big eyes and empty stomachs.

Once the judges sampled each dish, then the lines of people jumped up waiting patiently for the volunteers to serve every choice of hotdish they wanted to taste. Some of the people in the community decided to keep their eyes at bay and donate with monetary donations as they enjoyed the excitement happening all around them.

For the last hour and a half, Yonder called out every item donated for the fundraiser in the live auction – some of Jelsing’s signed sports memorabilia was auctioned off. Yonder then hosted the silent auction.

The fundraising event brought in more than expected compared to other years – over $10,000.

After COVID, fairs started to slow down, Pierce County Fair board members noticed and wanted to keep the excitement alive by bringing carnival rides again that so many of us enjoy.

People’s Choice winners for the hot dish fundraiser were:

First Place: Michelle Lake with the Chicken & Biscuits Casserole

Second Place: Melissa Ripplinger with the Tater Tot Dish

Third Place: Megan Pfau with the Wild Rice Hot Dish

Hot dish winners chosen by the judges were:

First Place: Lisa Staples with 3 Bean Hot Dish

Second Place: Chantel Hamilton with Hamburger Potato Hot Dish

Third Place: Bonnie Berginski with Cracker Barrel Potato Hot Dish

“The whole fair itself and the great turnout with the community involvement survived with success,” said Jelsing. “The variety of hot dishes and people volunteering, we had close to 15 people helping put this event on and I thank you, who helped make this happen without you.”

The Pierce County Fair provides lots of fun activities for everyone to enjoy. If you have a booth and would like to be part of the activity, non-profit or for profit, there is an application process online.

Every detail of the fair is planned out — from volunteers, medics, security and traffic control to entertainment, such as Booz N Tuna from Bismarck, barrel racing, carnival rides, clowns running around, caricatures, Daryl’s Racing Pigs and the demolition derby.