The Jefferson County Fair & Rodeo will have a carnival after all.
The 541 Bounce Experience will offer waterslides, bounce houses, carnival games, obstacle courses and “more daring, interactive games” at this year’s Jefferson County Fair & Rodeo.
“We had pretty much come to grips with the fact that we weren’t going to be able to replace the carnival with an actual carnival from all of our efforts, and we were really concerned about bringing in the wrong kind of partner in the 11th hour and not having time to vet them,” Bart Platt, the Jefferson County Event Complex manager, said.
Finding a new carnival vendor this close to the fair was never even on the radar until it suddenly happened, Platt said.
541 Bounce Experience, a Bend-based business, has a variety of entertainment options that will be available at the fair and rodeo from July 22 to July 25.
While the experience has been “highly stressful” for Platt, who is in his third year organizing the event, he was thankful for 541 Bounce Experience coming in to help and the work of the Fair Board to make it happen as well.
Platt said that some of these attractions will essentially be like “a life-sized doll house” for kids to play in, rather than the average bouncy house that can fit into a backyard.
“These are definitely not the bounce houses I grew up taking my kids out to,” Platt said.
One of the games offered is called Gelly Ball, a lower impact version of paintball.
At night, 541 Bounce Experience will be open during all of the Jefferson County Fair & Rodeo weekend, from 11 a.m. to after 11 p.m., including offering movies with concessions for kids to enjoy.
“This year there’s going to be a lot more entertainment for all ages,” Platt said.
Platt said the company being based in Central Oregon was a big help.
“(We) really just wanted to come up with something unique and fun since we weren’t going to be able to replace carnival rides,” Platt said.
Trentyn Luther, who owns 541 Bounce Experience, started the company during the pandemic as a way to give his kids the ability to stay active. Community members started asking to borrow or rent the bounce house from him.
“That’s where I had the idea,” Luther said.
Buying a couple more bounce houses and renting them out eventually made the bounce houses pay for themselves. But at that time, Luther said he was not thinking about this side gig as starting a true business.
Four years later, he started the business in earnest. Since then, the business has grown to serve throughout Central Oregon.
“We’ve quickly grown into Central Oregon’s premier bounce house rental company, trusted for everything from backyard birthdays to school functions, church gatherings, corporate parties, and large community festivals,” the company’s website said.
With the week of fair being in the middle of the summer, Platt said that offering water attractions like water slides may work well.
“Humbly, I feel like this is going to be the kind of thing that a few years down the road people look back on and are asking, ‘Hey, remember that fair we brought in water slides? Why don’t we do that again?’” Platt said.
He also said the Fair Board is establishing a relationship with 541 Bounce Experience and looking for ways to continue working with them in the future, which could potentially include other events or having them at the fair in the future.
“The proof will be in the pudding when we actually get to the fair and see how all these moving parts come together for everybody,” Platt said. “But personally, I’m really excited that we provided that much entertainment for so many people to consume at a very important time.”
Luther’s wife is from Madras, and she was the one who suggested the company reach out to the Jefferson County Fair & Rodeo to see how they could help.
His goal was simply to “see if I can do something to try and provide a good experience for kids there.”
Now, he is “excited” to be part of the Jefferson County Fair & Rodeo.
“I know there’s a lot of families out there,” Luther said. “There’s not as much to do as larger cities for kids. So I think it’s pretty special being able to be a part of their early memories.”
Luther said he knows this change to the fair was not a purposeful choice.
“It’s making the best of a situation out of your control,” Luther said. “… I think going, participating, and supporting your neighbors and their businesses, things like that, is important in any circumstance even if it’s not your first pick for what the fair looks like.”
General admission to the fair and rodeo is free, and tickets for 541 Bounce Experience are now available on the company’s website.
This year’s Jefferson County Fair & Rodeo will also still offer the rodeo on July 24 and 25, with tickets available at the door starting at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. events. An interactive lizard, snake and dragon show will be offered alongside many live bands, interactive experiences with the Children’s Museum of Central Oregon, livestock exhibits, face painting, camel rides and axe throwing will also be there.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source madraspioneer.com ’
