Hundreds turn out for Cowboy Ball
JOAN PLATKO of Polson makes an entry for a silent auction at the Cowboy Ball. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader)
AS THEY enjoyed the spring evening, community members gaze at the live and silent auction items at the 28th Cowboy Ball at the Polson Fairgrounds. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader)
BARBARA STONE, center, and husband Russell, right, get some dinner at the Cowboy Ball in Polson. The couple has attended the fundraiser every year of its existance, for 28 years. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader)
For the last 28 years, Polson Fairgrounds, Inc., has hosted an event largely supporting itself on its mission through the year.
On Friday, April 20, 425 people donned their “cowboy” attire and gathered in a massive tent at the fairgrounds, located off U.S. Highway 93 for the annual Cowboy Ball.
Una Rose Graham, chair of the event and board member of PFI, said that as of Monday afternoon, $23,000 was the estimate of how much money was raised through both a live and silent auction.
The amount, she said, is “more than last year by quite a bit. We’re very pleased with the results.”
Although the non profit runs the concession stand at the NRA rodeo as well as renting out the fairgrounds through the year, it’s the ball that lassoes the funds needed to add improvements to the property.
Each year, PFI spends between $10,000-$20,000, not including maintenance expenses, Graham said.
Money raised by the Cowboy Ball is local, staying within the community for everyone to enjoy.
“The community is generous to us. We appreciate the support of businesses and individuals who have helped to support us” through the years, Graham said.
Since about 1940, the fairgrounds have been in use.
The ball started in the early 1990s as a way for the group to maintain the grounds via improvements as different areas began to show age.
“(The Cowboy Ball) started out at the old Pend o’Reille bar that held about 60 people,” she said, noting that it was a way to raise money to complete projects around the grounds.
Starting as a dinner and an auction, the ball was on a relatively “small scale” that has grown for nearly three decades.
PFI doesn’t receive any tax monies from the county, Graham explained, which makes fundraising all the more necessary for the Polson Fairgrounds.
The fairgrounds that do show up on Lake County residents’ tax bills are the Lake County Fairgrounds in Ronan.
Last year, PFI was able to replace the grandstands, and coming up, the organization is taking note of the corrals.
As they keep up with the grounds, Graham said that residents have kept a watchful eye.
“People are realizing, can see, we’re doing good things.”
Those improvements haven’t gone unnoticed by community members, including Russell and Barbara Stone of Polson.
Dressed in their fashionable cowboy clothing, the couple stated they’ve attended the ball each year since the beginning.
“We go to a lot of events” at the fairgrounds, Russell said, who also donates each year to PFI.
“It’s for a very good cause,” Russell said of the event.
Graham said the goal isn’t just to keep the fairgrounds in great condition for Polson, but for everyone in the county.
“This is for the community, for the Mission Valley,” she said.
PFI’s work is to help ensure the grounds are used and well-kept for many years to come.
“That’s our goal; for our future generations to enjoy the fairgrounds.”