UPDATED: Tickets to attend the Ag Society Winter Ball sold out Friday afternoon, January 9. The Custer County Ag Society thanks everyone for the support shown through ticket sales for the event.
The Custer County Ag Society will be hosting their annual Winter Ball on Saturday, January 24. The festivities start at 5:30 PM at the Broken Bow Municipal Building.
While tickets to attend the event are no longer available, raffle tickets are still available for two different drawings, with the winner to be announced at the Ball.
The first item is a custom 22-250 Zermatt Original Action rifle, including a Grayboe Phoenix Stock and preferred barrel. The rifle is sponsored by OZ Bar Precision out of Berwyn. Alternatively, those with a green thumb may be interested in entering to win up to $2,500 in landscaping services from Sun Valley Landscaping in Ansley.
Tickets for both drawings are $50 each, and only 200 tickets for each drawing will be available from any member of the Ag Society board.
The evening will include both a silent and live auction with a number of items up for bid.
Dinner will be provided by Catering by Jill out of Burwell. Fair Board Member Mark Cardoza praised the meal provided by the caterer, saying that with tickets only $50, “where else are you going to get one of the best prime rib meals I’ve had in a long time, along with entertainment”.
Music and dancing will follow dinner and the live auction events. The Loose Cannons will provide the evening’s entertainment playing traditional country music mixed with a little rock-and-roll.
Money raised at the Winter Ball funds a number of Fairgrounds improvements. This year, the Fair Board plans to upgrade lighting around the fairgrounds and provide heating in the 
arena, as well as expand capacity for both campers and cattle.
Cardoza also noted that taxes fund only a part of the Fairground’s expenses, specifically going to insurance and actual fair costs. The many other events hosted on the Grounds, such as tractor pulls, equestrian events, and a new barbecue contest have to be able to be either cost-neutral or maybe make a small profit. Anything the Ag Society does above and beyond simply hosting events makes fundraising for upgrades especially important.
Tickets for Cowboys and Candlelight, the Custer County Ag Society Ball, are $50 per person, or $360 for a table for 8. For details, call Lori at 308-870-2493. More information on Fairgrounds activities can be found on their Facebook Page.
