Food Vendors

All concessionaires must comply with the State of Montana and Riverstone Health Department health requirements. Every vendor doing business on the MontanaFair fairgrounds must have a current, signed contract authorizing that activity.

MontanaFair management will exercise every precaution to guard against any illegal activities including but not limited to: gambling, pirating, fraud, extortion, or any form of misrepresentation. Determination of any illegal activity could result in expulsion from the grounds and forfeiture of all monies paid.

The following criteria will be considered by the MontanaFair management when determining whether a vendor will return next year.

1. Failure to comply with MontanaFair’s Rules and Regulations as outlined in the requirements, rules, and regulations in the 2023 MontanaFair Food Vending Agreement;
2. Participating in or knowingly allowing illegal or fraudulent activities while vending at MontanaFair;
3. Misrepresentation or misleading communications regarding products and/or services at previous year’s Fair(s);
4. Failure to obtain or show evidence of proper insurance coverage;
5. Fair patron complaints regarding vendor’s business practices, quality of products and/or service;
6. Unfavorable reports from any independent agency (i.e. State Health Department) or fellow vendors, fair patrons, carnival or MontanaFair staff;
7. Failure of vendor’s employees to be courteous to Fair patrons.

Please respect our staff and regulations. Discourtesy or ill treatment of staff, late arrival, leaving early or failure to abide by the terms of the contract will result in not being offered a contract for next year’s fair

MontanaFair management will determine space allocation and reserves the right to rearrange location of any and all booths or displays when in its judgment such action would be in the best interest of the Fair. Food vendors will be chosen and placed in a manner that management considers conducive to a successful Fair for both vendors and patrons.

Photo Badges will no longer be issued to individuals. Badges will now be issued directly to the vendor in the form of generic badges listing only the vendor’s business name. Each vendor will then be responsible for managing their allotment of badges amongst their staff. Up to ten (10) badges will be allowed per leased space. Additional badges will be available for $20 per badge. Please see the enclosed “Worker Badge and Vehicle Passes” form to obtain your badges.

Booth set up begins at 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 6th, and continues Thursday, August 8th, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. All booths must be in place by 4:00 p.m., Friday, August 9th, 2024, and must remain in place until 11:00 p.m. Saturday, August 17th, 2024. Vendors located in the Montana Pavilion must use the roll-up door on the parking lot side of the building. Please do not use the front doors for loading and unloading. The front doors must remain locked until the gates open. Early booth construction can help you avoid last-minute confusion. If you require more time to set up please contact MetraPark Food Services to arrange a setup time.

Outside booths must be placed within their allotted space. Booths should be placed so as to limit the length of electrical, water, and waste lines, and efforts made to reduce the amount of public traffic over those lines. Please be sure you have enough space to allow for tie-down of your tent or awning, as some tie-downs do not extend straight down. Any stock supplies or boxes must be within the allotted space, and areas must be kept clean and attractive. All booths must be able to withstand 40 mph winds without presenting a danger to the public.

Vendor must setup within the allotted dimensions of their space. Spaces will be marked with hash marks. Space sizes are as follows. The first measurement is parallel to the Food Midway the second is perpendicular to:

F201-F209, 212-222 - 30ft x 15ft
F302 - F303, F306 –F313 – 20ft x 30ft
F301, F304, F305 – N/A
F101-F109 – 20ft x 20ft
F210 & 211 – Combined 80ft x 80ft

All booths must be setup in a manner that is attractive to the general public. Equipment that is setup outside of a vendor’s trailer/booth must be concealed behind a privacy type fence or temporary wall structure. In cases were a grill or other piece of equipment is considered to be a “showcase” vendor may request special consideration for display of such equipment. All excess storage items must be stored inside booth space and must be attractively concealed or covered. Trash must be concealed from public view and/or promptly disposed of in appropriate receptacles. Signage, menus and menu boards need to be attractive printed and not handwritten.

Vendors are not allowed to utilize any space behind or around their marked booth area. Storage considerations must be planned in advance. Any special requests to place a storage trailer on the property must be discussed with Fair staff for approval well in advance of the start of the Fair.

Trailer Storage cannot be parked in public parking lots or adjacent to rented commercial booth space. Trailer storage is located at Gate 1(See Map) Trailers parked in public parking lots will be towed at owner’s expense.

MontanaFair entrance at the Pavilion will be open to the public from 12:00 noon to 9:00 p.m. each day of the Fair and Metra main gates will be open to the public from 12:00 noon to 11:00 p.m. each day of the Fair. All concession stands must be staffed during these hours. You must be in your space and ready for business at 4:00 p.m. Friday, August 9th and 12:00 noon subsequent days. Outside booths are required to be open the same hours. The carnival does not close until midnight. Outside exhibitors may wish to stay open until that time although they are only required to be open until 11:00 p.m. The Fair staff will be monitoring all booths to assure they are staffed during the required hours. Any violations will be documented and a copy will be left at the booth. Exhibitors receiving violations run the risk of not being invited back to MontanaFair or immediately closed down and asked to leave MontanaFair.

Vendors may begin to tear down at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 17th. ABSOLUTELY NO TEAR DOWN MAY BEGIN BEFORE THAT TIME. MontanaFair ends at 12:00 midnight on Saturday August 17th, and vehicles will be allowed in at that time for load out. The Montana Pavilion will remain open until 1:00 a.m. If you prefer to move out on Sunday, no security will be provided. The building will be opened from 8:00 am to noon on Sunday. All merchandise and equipment must be removed from the grounds no later than noon on Sunday. Any items remaining on the grounds or in the buildings after this time become the property of MontanaFair.

The Montana Pavilion will be secured at 10:00 p.m. each night of the Fair. Security staff will be in the Pavilion from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. beginning Thursday, August 8th and all subsequent days of the Fair. There will be no restocking after closing time. MontanaFair assumes no responsibility for materials left in booths. If you have anything in your display of value that could be carried away, it is suggested that you take it with you each night when you leave the grounds.

There will be grounds security on a 24 hour basis starting at 2:00 p.m. Friday, August 9th. Please report any theft or vandalism to MontanaFair management. MontanaFair is not responsible for any loss or damage.

UPS and Fed Ex shipments arrive in the arena lobby about 10:30 a.m. each day. The exhibitor’s superintendent will receive those shipments and will see that you get them. If you have items shipped COD, you will need to receive delivery yourself in order to handle payment.

Deliveries or any re-stocking must be done before 11:00 a.m. every morning of the Fair. The Montana Pavilion will open at 9:00 a.m. Vendors with grounds passes appropriately displayed in their vehicles will be allowed on the grounds in vehicles between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. for deliveries or unloading only. All vehicles must be off the grounds by 11:00 a.m. After 11:00 a.m. the grounds are closed to traffic and you may park your vehicle in any public parking lot and enter at the admission gate.

The grounds pass for vehicles is only for allowing that vehicle and driver onto the grounds for deliveries and restocking from 7:00am – 11:00am. The grounds pass in no way affords the vendor or the vendors employees parking privileges in restricted areas of the grounds. Each vendor may request up to two (2) grounds passes.

For the 2021 MontanaFair each vendor will be issued one (1) parking pass for the infield of the Grandstands.

Please see the “Worker Badge and Vehicle Passes” to request your grounds passes and parking pass.

Those wishing to utilize a golf cart or similar vehicle for restocking of stands during the open hours of MontanaFair will be allowed to do so. Common sense usage of such vehicles around Fair patrons is essential. Areas that are off limits to golf carts and areas in which usage of golf carts is discouraged will be discussed at the vendor meeting.

It is expressly understood that exhibitors are prohibited from selling any articles or products or rendering any services except those specifically listed on their 2024 MontanaFair Food Vending Agreement. MontanaFair management reserves the right to require removal of any menu items which are not listed on your agreement.

Liability Insurance
If you are unable to provide proof of your own liability insurance and wish to purchase a rider on our policy, the cost will be $100.00 for each booth. This fee must be paid before August 1, 2023. This does NOT include workers’ compensation coverage.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Any concessionaire claiming exempt from workers’ compensation coverage must provide a copy of their Independent Contractor Exemption Certification issued by the Montana Department of Labor. All employees, however, must be covered by workers’ compensation insurance. Concessionaires can not utilize “independent contractors” to provide employee services; by definition, such independent contractors fall under the definition of “employees” and, therefore, must be covered by workers’ compensation insurance.

No beer, wine, intoxicating liquor or controlled substance of any kind shall be kept, sold or consumed by the vendors or their employees within their allotted space.

Pets will not be permitted on the grounds during the Fair with the exception of disability-related service dogs (on a leash) or pets entered in the 4-H shows or exhibits. At no time are pets allowed to be unattended during the fair.

Food Vendors: Mike Groscop 406-256-2463 or Amanda Stewart 406-256-2464

Commercial Vendors: Deb Christensen 406-256-2402