Want affordable fun for the whole family? Head out to the Jefferson County Fair & Rodeo, August 20-23, at the Jefferson County Recreation Park one-half mile south of Boulder.
The old-fashioned country fair, called A Fair of the Heart, features live music, exhibits and contests. Admission is free and it costs just $2 to park a car. Inflatable slides and other playground equipment share the grounds with the Boulder River Carousel, which costs a quarter a ride.
Food vendors, fair exhibits, displays and events, housed in red and white turn-of-the-century barns, are open to the public on Saturday and Sunday.
Fair and rodeo events start with a live performance on Thursday at 7 o'clock by Virginia City's Brewery Follies. The benefit for the rodeo bleacher project costs $15. Due to adult content, parental discretion is advised.
Plenty of rodeo and horseback action lures rodeo fans to Boulder. On Friday, local cowboys and cowgirls compete in the Wrangler Roundup which starts at 4 pm. Kids have their own horse show, parade, and rodeo on Friday. There is no admission fee for Thursday's events.
The Jefferson County Rodeo Association puts on the fast-paced two day NRA rodeo Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The admission fee is $6 for adults, $3 for children.
Saturday events include a rodeo parade at one. Entertainment includes live music all afternoon. Saturday's traditional beef barbecue starts at 4 p.m. At 7:30 pm, baked goods are auctioned to benefit the fairgrounds in lively bidding wars that see blue ribbon pies and cakes going for hundreds of dollars.
Saturday wraps up with a real barn dance with music by the Insufficient Funds band, starting at 8 p.m. For $1 admission, folks kick up their heels and have a ball in the beautiful white barn.
Sunday events continue with dog show at 10 and a kids' stick horse rodeo at 11 a.m. Then kids dive into a huge pile of straw for free treats and prizes. More live music plays Sunday afternoon, and fair goers get one last opportunity for cotton candy, a ride on the carousel, and another performance of the wild and wooly Boulder Rodeo.