Entertainment, food, family fun and information play an important part of any expo, and this is no different for the 2016 Farm and Ranch Expo that opened on Wednesday at the Expo Grounds in Great Bend.
The day started with a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday morning, with remarks from guest speakers Great Bend Mayor Mike Allison, Great Bend Chamber of Commerce President Jan Peters and promoter and owner of Star Expos Darren Dale and other guests.
“I would like to welcome everyone to the fifth-annual Great Bend Farm and Ranch Show,” Allison said. “What this show has done is shown how well the people of Great Bend, the chamber, the city along with Darren Dale and his group can come together and put on a show in a corporative spirit.”
During the ceremony Dale presented some special awards to some people that help put on the show and make it run smooth.
The Ag Supporter of the Year Award was presented to Jan Peters for her hard work on helping put the show together. There were two Volunteer of the Year Awards presented. One went to Jim Rziha and the other one went to AJ Chrest. These awards were presented to these two people for all the hard work they do during the show.
This year marks the fifth year the expo has been in this community and many might not realize its importance.
“This expo is a blessing to our community,” Allison said. “It not only boost our economy, we also get to use all of our facilities and it provides important information to our local farmers.”
There are 80 acres of exhibit space along with over 700 booths at the expo. There is even a beer tent that opens at 11 a.m. daily at Expo Building 3.
There will be live cattle demonstrations, horse training shows presented by Scott Daily, K-State research and Extension speakers, Technologies and Farming Technique forums, Peterson Farm Brothers will be performing and there will be Bradford Cattle Stock Dog demos.
“This expo means a lot to me, I am very passionate about it,” Dale said. “I believe if you surround yourself with good people good things will happen.”
Dale also promotes Farm and Ranch shows in Wichita Falls, Texas, and McCook, Neb.
The expo will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday with different shows and demos throughout the day. There is no admission fee and free parking.
For more information about the expo or to see listing of shows and demonstrations visit greatbendfarmandranchexpo.net.