The Wyoming State Fair (WSF) kicks off Aug. 15 with several new attractions for fairgoers this year. These include a ranch rodeo, exhibits on how agriculture affects a person’s everyday life, new entertainment options, and motorsports events, among others.
“There's a lot of new great highlights for this year's fair. And of course, we still have all of the history and tradition that we've had for the past 111 years also,” said Courtny Conkle, general manager of the WSF. “We're welcoming back the ranch rodeo. We've had an amazing group of people come forward and they're the ones that are producing that ranch rodeo…it's just such a testament to western spirit in the Wyoming way of life.”
A Champion of Champions Showcase allows youth that have done well in livestock showing events at their local county fairs to compete against each other on the statewide level.
“Every year, we've got kids from around the state that compete at their county fair levels, and they are awarded the champion overall for market swine, sheep, goats and beef,” she said.
But unlike previous years where winners receive belt buckles, the size of those that will be awarded will dwarf normal ones.
“It's going to be like, think Taylor Swift production level,” Conkle said. “There's pyro, there's [a] PRCA announcer, there's [a] PRCA music director. The belts instead of it being like a traditional belt buckle, they're like UFC belts. We've got a ring girl; we've got Mrs. Wyoming coming to showcase those belts.”
The WSF is offering half-priced admission to those who bring four cans of non-perishable food items, which will be donated to First Lady Jennie Gordon’s Wyoming Hunger Initiative. It also marks Youth Day, where all young people aged 12 and under get in the gate for free. Wednesday night is also military appreciation night.
The WSF has partnered with the Wyoming Breast Cancer Initiative with Thursday night’s rodeo being, “tough enough to wear pink night”.
Friday will include motorsports events, including the long-running demolition derby.
“We have a motorsports lovers package where you can come on Friday night for the figure eight race and come back on Saturday night for the demo derby,” Conkle said.
Being a public event, Conkle and the organizers of the fair strive to make it accessible to all ages and income levels so they can enjoy what the fair has to offer.
“You'll kind of see an overarching theme of a lot of our promotional stuff, being sensitive to making sure that it's not cost prohibitive to come to the fair and enjoy yourself,” she said. “Also, that it's giving back to communities, it's giving back to the state, and it's a great way for all of us to come together, so a ton going on. This is our busiest week of the year.”
A full list of events for this year’s fair can be found here. It continues through Aug. 19.
