Country Fair Kitchen spans three generations

Mark Blasdel has been running around the Flathead County Fairgrounds since he was old enough to walk.

His mom, Alice Blasdel, purchased the Country Fair Kitchen over 40 years ago, and young Mark began busing tables there when he was around 7 years old, eventually working his way into the kitchen.

"I negotiated with my mom that I would work all day as long as I could go to the rodeo at night," Mark Blasdel said.

When he was in high school, he took over management of the Country Fair Kitchen while his mom slowly stepped away to focus on new entrepreneurial endeavors. Today, his 15-year-old daughter Ellie works beside him from sunup to sundown during fair week, while Alice Blasdel and the rest of the family hold down the fort at their other Flathead Valley business, Vista Linda Restaurant and Catering in Somers.

As one of the only indoor food vendors at the fair, the Country Fair Kitchen offers a place for families and senior citizens to get out of the sun while enjoying some of the tastiest food on the fairgrounds, including burgers, fries and their specialty, the Paco Taco.

"The Paco Taco is our biggest seller," Mark Blasdel said.

Blasdel (who is also a Republican state senator) describes the Paco Taco as a cross between a taco and a British pasty. Bread dough is filled with savory taco meat and then fried to a crisp. Served with lettuce and tomato, the hefty Paco Taco runs fair customers about $6.

Like all the food vendors at the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo, the Country Fair Kitchen is a labor of love. Open from 7 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., the kitchen serves breakfast to the early risers and dinner to the post-concert and rodeo crowd. Mark Bladel figures he averages about three or four hours of sleep per night during fair week. But he isn't complaining.

"It's fun to see so many people and families who you don't see any other time of the year," he said. "I love seeing the 4-H and FFA kids when they come in for breakfast."

When he was a boy, Mark was a member of the Lakeview Livestock 4-H Club in Somers and raised market hogs to show at the fair. His 11-year-old son Isaak is a member of the club today and will show his own hog at this year's fair. Isaak also will help his dad in the Country Kitchen between barn duties.

The Blasdels are just one of many local families who inspired the theme of this year's Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo, "Montana's Best Traditions."

"Generations of Flathead Valley families have participated in the fair since it began in 1902, making it one of the most anticipated events of the summer," Fairgrounds Manager Mark Campbell said.

"We chose this year's theme of 'Montana's Best Traditions' to pay tribute to the traditions that have been handed down to us from our parents and grandparents and that we in turn have handed down to our children and grandchildren," Campbell said. "We invite newcomers to the Flathead Valley to experience the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo this summer and consider making it one of their family's traditions."