SIDNEY — When the Junior Fair Improvement Committee decided in the fall of 2016 to have a dinner and reverse raffle as a fundraiser, members hoped to get enough money to build a barn in which Junior Fair participants could show chickens and rabbits.

The committee, all adults who support Junior Fair initiatives, didn’t set a fundraising goal.

“We just hoped to raise enough money for the barn,” said Andy Yenser, a committee member. They did. The reverse raffle brought in about $30,000.

Now, the committee is accepting bids to construct a 50-foot by 72-foot, wood-framed facility in time for the 2017 Shelby County Fair in July. Bid deadline is Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. Packets are available by calling Yenser at 538-1045.

“They used to have a barn, but it burned down several years ago and they’ve been using a tent since then,” Yenser said. A restroom facility has since been built where the original barn was. The new barn will be constructed when the tent has been erected, near the show arenas.

The raffle, which Yenser says will become an annual event, offered a $10,000 first prize. This year’s event has been scheduled for September.

The committee is not affiliated with the Shelby County Agricultural Society, the senior fair board, which operates the fairgrounds and manages the Shelby County Fair.

“We are a committee of people who have an interest in the junior fair,” Yenser said.