Annaliese Carrillo, 11, is entering six lambs in the Curry County Fair this year. | Photo courtesy of Michelle Carrillo

Annaliese Carrillo knows a thing or two about livestock auctions.

The 11-year-old Smith River resident, a second-year 4-Her, is entering six lambs into the Curry County Fair this week -- ewes and wethers. She said she made reserve champion last year and hopes to make grand champion in showmanship and market. Annaliese’s focus since about late January is to get her wethers to around 120 to 125 pounds before entering the show ring.

“You want a good amount for each pound at auction and you want people to think about, would this be a good buy? Should I bid higher and higher?” She told the Wild Rivers Outpost last week. “I will put one of my wethers, probably Ramen, in the auction ring.”

For Annaliese and her peers in 4H, the youth livestock auction at 3 p.m. Saturday is the culmination of months of work. It will wrap up four days of judging and animal presentations for youngsters and adults.

Kaitlyn Coleman, manager for the Event Center on the Beach in Gold Beach, said she expects more than 100 animal entries at the fair this year. Though the youth livestock auction features 4-H entries, there are also open class exhibits, which allows anyone to show an animal in front of a judge, Coleman said.

The Curry County Fair kicks off two weekends of fair fun for the Wild Rivers region starting at noon on Wednesday. In addition to your fair staples like the carnival, live music and entertainment including a reptile exhibit, Circus Imagination and Peter Irish Juggling, there will be a rodeo and a parade.

This year’s theme is “Fun for the Whole Herd!” And folks have until Tuesday to submit an entry form to participate in this year’s parade.

The Curry County Fair opens to the public at noon on Wednesday. | Photo courtesy of the Event Center on the Beach

Parade check-in starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with the procession itself wending its way down U.S. 101 starting at 11 a.m. Live music includes local bands the Ferguson Brothers on Wednesday and the Rogue Strings on Thursday.

Catherine Loyer & Strawberry Roan brings “high energy country” to Gold Beach on Friday while the Portland-based band the Junebugs will take the stage on Saturday.

Coleman pointed out that Curry County typically holds its fair the week before Del Norte County’s, which starts Aug. 3

For exhibitors, those entering art, baked goods and other static items, the deadline was Monday. For Annaliese and others showing animals, entry day is from noon-5 p.m. Tuesday. Vet checks start at 5 p.m.

In addition to wanting to put Ramen in the auction, Annaliese says she wants to sell Titan and Noodle, her two other wethers. She said she’ll use the money to pay her parents back for feed and to continue to grow her flock.

In addition to breeding her own sheep, Annaliese said her family also keeps two Kune kune pigs that had piglets a few weeks ago.

“I would love to have about 16 ewes because in the end my goal is to not have any wethers, it’ll just be ewes and then I can breed them each year,” she said. “You get a lot of learning experience at this. Also, I think it’s better meat. When you buy meat from a store, you realize they’ve had all these medicines and stuff and then they are always cooped up in this tiny little space. 4-H makes it so they have a good life before they get eaten.”

SHARE →