Arapahoe County Fair Blog Posts

A Guide to Your Best Day at the Fair

Maximize your experience with this hour-by-hour guide

The Arapahoe County Fair is located at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds Event Center. We’ve made you a full day itinerary to make sure you don’t miss out on any of our fun events at this year’s Fair.

🎒 Make sure you’ve got everything you need for a full day of fun. Pack your sunscreen, water bottle, snacks, camera and additional personal items you may want while you’re outside roaming about. We allow food and beverages (even in a cooler!), but please leave glass containers and alcohol beverages at home. Share those photos with us at #ArapCoFair.

11 a.m. - The Fair opens daily at 11 a.m. Each visitor receives a wristband upon admission. Flash that wristband for re-entry anytime the same day you purchased your ticket to leave and come back, especially if you need to take a nap so you can come back and stay up for fireworks. Parking can be paid in advance or $10 cash per vehicle at the Fairgrounds gate.

Dueling Dogs: Dock Diving

Watch dogs as they compete in this new canine performance sport. Dogs leap off the dock attempting to jump as far as they can before entering the water. If you like watching dog sports, there’s also the barn hunt which is sure to delight any doggo fan. In the hunt, these trained dogs search for the live mouse hidden in the hay bales. Don’t worry, this isn’t a gladiator sport, the mice are protected by PVC piping.

Carnival Rides and Games 🎡

The carnival rides are included with your tickets, so jump on that Ferris wheel as many times as you’d like! Be sure to check out some of the games and prizes so you can get yourself a souvenir from the Fair.

12:30 p.m. - Mutton Bustin’

Mutton busting is an activity to watch kiddos join in on the rodeo fun. The challenge is to stay on those running sheep for up to six seconds. The event is open for anyone to participate too. If you have a young one between 4-7 years, who weighs less than 60 lbs, you can participate. The cost is $15 and a legal guardian or parent will need to sign a waiver. Registration is 45 minutes before each showtime.

1:00 p.m.: Get a bite to eat!

Find yourself some grub at one of our many food vendors. All the traditional Fair food will be right at your fingertips - Italian ice, BBQ, funnel cakes, ice cream, beer, tacos, and more!

The Homestead

Step indoors and check out these fun activities. This activity is a place for families to explore western themed craft projects with local community groups and hands-on activities. Meet alpacas, milk “June the Cow”, decorate cookies, or take a selfie on the Conestoga wagon.

Saturday, 7p.m or Sunday, 3p.m. - Rodeo 🤠

When you visit on Saturday and Sundays you can catch the rodeo action. On Saturday evening, the rodeo arena will host the sanctioned and traditional rodeo and Sunday afternoon the Mexican rodeo will take the stage. You can expect bull riding, barrel racing, and lots of music and entertainment.

9:30 p.m.: Fireworks 🎆

Folks say our fireworks shows are the best in the County! Find yourself a nice spot to watch, we even welcome your own lawn chairs and stadium seats.

👉If you only have a few hours to spare at this year’s Fair, we recommend visiting in the evening to have a great night out with live music, carnival rides, and fireworks.

Check out the Fair map here!

👉To truly do the Fair in Colorado style add tickets to our Craft Brew Festival and taste samples from over 15 breweries. The event has unlimited pours, once you’ve picked your favorite enjoy a full pint.🍺

👉ATMs will be available, but we encourage you to bring cash as many of the vendors do not accept credit cards.

Feeling ready for the Fair? Go buy your tickets! 🎟

Thanks to our incredible sponsors that are sponsoring these events: Extraction Oil and Gas, City of Aurora, Arapahoe Park and Recreation District, Waste Management, Xcel Energy.

ENTERTAINMENT AT THE 2019 FAIR

We don’t mess around when it comes to bringing in talent for our main stage. The main stage will showcase musicians each day of the Fair July 25-28 for hours of live entertainment. To get you as pumped as we are, here’s a preview.

We’ve got a variety of musical genres including country, bluegrass, rock and Mexican banda. Check out the full schedule of bands on our website.

Ryan Chrys and the Rough Cuts

Named as the “Entertainer of the Year, 2018” by Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryan Chrys and the Rough Cuts join the Fair’s Main Stage with their outlaw-style country music. The band brings a lot of energy to their performances as they light up the stage. Influenced by Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, the Rough Cuts have a rock & roll attitude and love to blaze their guitars.

Kory Brunson Band

Colorado-based Kory Brunson Band calls their music genre “hard country” because they combine a polished rock with down-home country. Often found touring across the country, Kory Brunson Band has opened for Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Richie Law & Southern Routes

A finalist on Season 11 of American Idol , Richie Law is not to be missed. Born into a musical family in Georgia, but became a Coloradan at age 7. He’s performed for big crowds across the U.S. with his band and even shared the stage with Darius Rucker, Jewel, and Josh Turner.

Mark Powell

Inspired by Buck Owens, Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, but his true inspiration was his father who played fiddle and the keys. Hailing from Texas originally Mark Powell has toured through the southwest, sharing the stage with numerous musicians and headlining many festivals.

Woodshed Red

Based in Colorado Springs, Woodshed Red is comprised of guitar, fiddle, upright bass, and drums. The group came together in 2013 are inspired by bluegrass, blues, funk, and rock both classic and modern. They pride themselves as being an upbeat grassy band with funk. They were nominated for Best Bluegrass Band by the Indy Music Awards in 2015. Last year they released their album, “Live in Manitou.”

All concerts are included with the general admission ticket, plus carnival rides and fireworks, get yours now! For a list of all the Things to Do at this year’s Fair and to purchase your tickets, check out our website. Recruit your friends and family to be dancing partners and rock on!

Main Stage Sponsor

This year’s Main Stage is brought to you by Extraction Oil & Gas

15 Baking Tips & Hacks to Help You Win at the Fair

Plus, all the details to submit your entry

County fairs welcome bakers of all levels to show off their skills. Sometimes, that could feel a little intimidating. We’re here to give you some tips and guidelines to help you win that blue ribbon.

Arapahoe County’s average elevation is about 5,000 feet. You may want to consider altering recipes for high altitude. Check out these tips for your high-elevation baking:

1.Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon, decrease 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon.

2. Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 0 to 2 tablespoons.

3. Increase liquid: for each cup, add 2 to 4 tablespoons

4. Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.

5. Air pressure is lower, so foods take longer to bake. Temperatures and/or bake times may need to be increased.

6. Liquids evaporate faster, so amounts of flour, sugar and liquids may need to be changed to prevent batter that is too moist, dry or gummy.

7. Gases expand more, so doughs rise faster. Leavening agents (baking soda and baking powder) may need to be decreased. Doughs may need shorter rising times and may need to be “punched down” (deflated) twice during the rising process.

You’re a pro at baking at altitude, do you know about these baking hacks?

8. Forgot to grab your butter out of the fridge or freezer? Easy. Grate the butter to incorporate the butter in your recipe.
9. Smooth out that ganache with your blow dryer. Apply that heat directly your ganache and use a spatula to smooth out the melting chocolate
10. If you run out of buttermilk, use 1 cup whole milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
11.Baking the day before the Fair? Use a slice of bread to keep your cake moist.
12. Want that whipped cream even fluffier? Try chilling your whisk (or beaters) and your bowl. 13. If you’re using powdered sugar as a topping, use some lace to give a more ornate decoration.
14. Avoid the struggle of measuring sticky substances like honey or molasses. Spray your measuring cup or spoon with some cooking oil and voila! Easier to measure, easier to clean.
15. Store your cake in the microwave until you can bring it to the Fair for entry, it’s another hack to keep it moist (and away from the dog).

Even though Open Class entries were due July 17, walk-in entries are also welcome! A $2 walk-in entry is required with the entry form. Entries will not be accepted after 10 a.m., July 23.

Cash prizes for the top three ranked exhibitors in all Open Class classes are:

First: Blue Ribbon, $3
Second: Red Ribbon, $2
Third: White Ribbon, $1

For more information about Open Class categories or submission guidelines, visit our website.