The 2004 TILLAMOOK COUNTY FAIR closed on August 14th as the most successful fair in history. Many records were set and a lot of fun was had by all. The Fair Board's choice of “GOIN HOG WILD” proved to be a winner! The fair theme was chosen because the Tillamook County Fair is four days of endless fun and also because the Tillamook Pig-N-Ford Association was celebrating the 80th Anniversary of their world famous Pig-N-Ford Races. The Fair Board provided fair goers with a variety of ways to enjoy the fair. From great Courtyard Entertainment, outstanding Grandstand Shows, live Pari-Mutuel Horse Racing, Brad’s World Reptiles, master hypnotist Russ Peak, a Talent Show, 4-H and FFA exhibits, a quality Open Dairy Show to the world famous Pig-N-Ford Races. Commercial exhibitors did a great job of decorating their booths to the theme.The Fair Board attributes the success of the 2004 Tillamook County Fair to great weather and the heartfelt contributions by many volunteers, groups and businesses.

Attendance for this year's fair was up a little over 2% to 66,308 people. Saturday's attendance of 24,057, wasn’t a record but sure made the fairgrounds a hard place to navigate most of the day. Exhibits entered into the fair, including Open and 4-H/FFA, were 6,513. 4-H/FFA programs continue to grow in Tillamook because of an outstanding Extension Service Staff, excellent FFA advisors and countless 4-H/FFA leaders. The Market Animal Sale reported $73,279.00 in sales. This was up over 6% from last year with ninety-one animals being sold. Special thanks need to go to the Junior Livestock Auction Committee for their hard work all year long to make the Market Animal Sale what it is today.

The 2004 Open Dairy Show had another quality show. Both out of state judges remarked that the quality of the animals was like a National Show. Many exhibitors felt the competition was the best in years and that only the State Fair can top Tillamook’s Open Dairy Show. Wanda Durrer did an excellent job as the Open Dairy Superintendent and was instrumental in getting a new bulk milk tank in place before the fair to accommodate the milk produced during the fair.

Haworth Family Shows provided carnival rides this year and had gross sales of $117,418.00. The advance sales of the "All You Can Ride" coupons again proved very popular. Haworth Family Shows had rides that appealed to young and old alike. Their KAMIKAZI ride was a real hit.

Pari-Mutuel Horse Racing also set a record. The live handle of $99,955.00 was up 2% over last year and has only been topped when the fair had a four day Race Meet. A record number of horses participated. Thanks need to go to Oregon Racing Commission for providing the purse money this year and continuing their bonus to the jockey’s. Thanks also to Oregon Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association for additional purse money for the Jerry and Eileen Towslee Memorial Race.

Entertainment at the 2004 Tillamook County Fair offered something for everyone. The popular Pig-N-Ford Races celebrated their 80th year and filled the grandstands Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Courtyard entertainment was available all day and included many local groups and paid entertainers. Brad’s World Reptiles demonstrations proved to be very popular again on the courtyard stage. Master Hypnotist Russ Peak proved that fair goers like to participate in hypnotist shows. Russ provided two shows each day and attracted large crowds. The free grandstand shows were very popular this year because of the big name national talent that performed. Wednesday’s show featuring country singer Tracy Lawrence attracted a good crowd the first day of the Tillamook County Fair. On Thursday night, new country artist of the year Dierks Bentley brought in the largest audience for any grandstand show ever outside of the Demolition Derby. The fair attendance that day was the largest ever for a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. The grandstands were packed two hours before the show and no one left the grandstands until the concert was over. On Friday, the comedy team of WILLIAMS AND REE also known as “The Indian and the White Guy” returned again to the fairgrounds and attracted a large crowd and had everyone laughing throughout their performance. The Demolition Derby on Saturday again surpassed all expectations with so many people attending, that even with using the Rodeo bleachers some people were still unable to view the Derby. Fair goers are still amazed that these grandstand shows continue to be free with their price of admission.

The Fair Board would like to extend their gratitude to everyone involved with this year's fair. A big thank you goes out to everyone who helped, supported or participated in making the 2004 TILLAMOOK COUNTY FAIR a record fair. The amount of community support and volunteerism was unbelievable this year. The Fair Board is already planning on making next year's fair bigger and even better.