NELIGH — When Neligh artist Shannon Olson decided to enter her paintings in the open class portion of the Antelope County Fair for the first time ever, despite being a practicing artist for many years, she had no idea she’d walk away as the grand champion in the paintings and drawings portion of handicrafts.
Her large acrylic and chalk painting titled “Into the Unknown” depicts the back of a woman who is gazing ahead of her into an abstract background that represents the unknown while surrounded by flowers that give her peace and strength. Olson said it took roughly 32 hours to complete the painting.
Olson is a self-taught artist who has always been drawn to painting. She prefers to paint floral scenes that are often inspired by her backyard garden oasis, and she likes to use vibrant colors in her paintings. Two flower paintings that she also entered in the open class portion of the fair both received first-place ribbons.
They are not eligible for the Nebraska State Fair, but “Into the Unknown” is. Olson said she isn’t yet sure if she is going to take it to the state fair because she hadn’t been expecting to win, but she plans to look into it.
When she’s not painting in her home studio and sharing her art on her website of shannonolsonart.com, she’s working at Blackburn’s Manufacturing, where she’s been employed for 27 years. She also loves to share her talent with others through classes and workshops.
Aside from county residents who chose to compete in the fair, the Antelope County Fair also drew large crowds of spectators for its events. This year, the fair board opted for two nights of extreme bull riding which took place Thursday and Friday.
At the culmination of the first night of bull riding, the Antelope County Fair board received a plaque from the Bull Riders of America because that association chose the Antelope County Fair as its event of the year for 2023. According to Heath Snodgrass, one of the directors of the Antelope County Fair, the bull riders who belong to that association voted for their favorite event out of 22 states, and the Antelope County Fair won the honor.
The second night of extreme bull riding also featured freestyle bullfighting. A bullfighter entered the ring and had 45 seconds to face off against the animal. While most of the bull riders and fighters were from out of state, Jeffrey Whellock from Columbus competed as a bullfighter.
Andrew Mellencamp, a 25-year-old bullfighter from Norwack, Iowa, (and a distant cousin to singer John Mellencamp), was at the event on Friday evening, but he didn’t do any freestyling. He said it was his fourth year as a bullfighter and his second year at the Antelope County Fair. He explained his job: “When a rider falls off, our job is to distract the bull.”
The Friday evening event also featured mutton busting and barrel racing. The fair wrapped up its grandstand events on Saturday with the popular demo derby and Sunday with the tractor pull.
