Bannock County Fair rises to new heights

The Bannock County Fair is underway in Downey. Offering people in southeastern Idaho food, fun and family entertainment, the six-day event always finds a way to draw people in.

Wednesday marked the third day of the fair. This year, the event featured many moving pieces, from dirt bikes and horses to food trucks and trailers.

One such trailer is Wafflicious.

“We sell all sorts of things; desserts, sundaes, root beer floats,” owner Becky Christensen explained. “Just anything dessert, I’m your girl.”

This is the first year at the fair for Christensen and her daughters, whose trailer is dedicated to their sale of Liege waffles, a popular Belgian cuisine.

“It’s made from a dough and we import sugar pearls from Europe,” she said, “and as it bakes, it caramelizes and it just gives it a nice crispy bake.”

Christensen fell in love with the waffles a Salt Lake store was selling and got inspired.

“And decided to come up with my own recipe, so I can just make them anytime I wanted,” she said.

Christensen said that things haven’t quite taken off yet, encouraging people to get out of their comfort zone to try it. A message another first-year business is echoing.

“It’s kind of a unique experience, most fairs don’t have something like this,” Marc Ballif, director of operations for Yellowstone Helicopters, explained.

Yellowstone Helicopters is a tour operator based in West Yellowstone, Montana. Wednesday, the group was offering ten-minute rides to fair attendees.

“It’s a completely different experience from being in an airplane,” Ballif said. “The initial pickup, when you come up to a hover, it’s hard to explain. Brad likes to say it’s like being on a magic carpet ride.”

An experience that fairgoers have really been enjoying.

“It’s just smiles,” Ballif said. “Everyone lands and comes out with a smile.”

The fair runs through Saturday with rodeo action getting underway Thursday evening.