Are you looking for something interesting and fun to do this summer? Look no further than the annual Washington County Fair from August 10-17
By Michele Gillis
This year, the organizers of the Washington County Agricultural Fair decided to mix things up.
Instead of a headliner music act on Sunday evening, the fair organizers are bringing back something to the Sunday evening entertainment line-up that will make a lot of folks happy – a rodeo!
Get out your cowboy hats, boots and spurs so you are ready to attend one or both of the rodeo performances at the Washington County Agricultural Fair on Sunday Aug.11.
“There’s one scheduled for 2 p.m. in the afternoon,” Wayne Hunnell, Washington County Agricultural Fair Board secretary. “Then the next is at 7 p.m. that evening. We just wanted to do a change so we aren’t always doing the same thing every year on the same dates and things like that. We’ve had several folks attending the fair over the last couple of years ask about why we haven’t had a rodeo. We had one years ago, and it did well. And then it just kind of got changed off and we hadn’t had it back for several years.”
Hunnell said part of the reason was one of the neighboring fairs was also having rodeos and they didn’t want to continue infringing on what they were doing. The rodeo is sponsored by Diversified Energy.
“Diversified Energy is excited to partner with Washington County Fair and present this year’s rodeo,” said Jason Mounts, Director of Production at Diversified Energy. “The rodeo truly symbolizes what Diversified is all about through hard work, dedication, sacrifice and commitment on being the best at what we do. As we continue into the future, Diversified will be committed to not to be bucked off from the pillars of our structure, which are SAFETY, PRODUCTION, EFFICIENCY, AND ENJOYMENT. We will always be ready to produce AMERICAN ENERGY!”
Buckeye Rodeo Company provides bareback bronc riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, cowgirl’s barrel racing and girl’s breakaway calf and team roping in their rodeo shows.
“So there will be various events,” said Hunnell. “The main part of it will be the bronc riding and the bull riding. Our understanding is that it’s going to be a lot of fun. The good news is that where some of the other rodeos are now located, that we have a good opportunity of getting a number of good riders coming through as they’re headed from the East Coast towards the Midwest.”
Hunnell is excited and optimistic for the number of riders and people in attendance. “We’re expecting a pretty good performance and turnout of riders,” he said. “We don’t really know what that number is because it depends on who shows up, signs up and so forth. This is early planning stages right now. We won’t even know until a week before the actual rodeo takes place how many are actually going to be riding. Buckeye Rodeo is out of Ohio and this is what they do. They have their own livestock that they bring in and they set everything up.”
Hunnell said that Buckeye Rodeo is familiar with the fair schedule, so when they approached them about having a rodeo here, they thought it was an ideal time and it was the right place to pick up a number of the higher-end riders.
“Now the locals will also be able to ride in the rodeo and if local kids want to participate in the games, they can,” said Hunnell.
Poles is one of the games Hunnell described for children to participate in.
“They’ll do some game stuff for the kids as well,” he said. “They set up six poles in a straight line that are 21-feet apart, and the rider has to weave back and forth on their horse between the poles, get down and turn and come back and do it in the fastest time possible without knocking over poles or missing a space. There will also be additional games for people of all ages that will be run by the rodeo clowns. So there’s a variety of events like that, that if local folks want to sign up and participate, they’ll be able to do so.”
Because the western side of Pennsylvania has one of the largest horse populations, the fair is in the process of developing and designing an equestrian center where they’ll be able to hold rodeos and almost every type of equestrian event that they want to hold. The three biggest draws to the fair include the demolition derby which is on the first Saturday, the school bus demolition derby on Wednesday and another demolition derby the last Friday night.
Other entertainment events happening at the fair include nightly music entertainment in the show tent, except for the first Saturday evening.
The fair officially opens at 9 a.m. on Saturday with many events planned for the day. Opening ceremonies will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening with the Fair Queen contest following.
Musical entertainment throughout the week will include Oldies Show on Tour, Good Karma, A.C. Resistors, Scott Blasey (lead singer of Clark’s), Ruff Creek, Joey Adams and Bon Journey.
“The Washington County Agricultural Fair not only showcases the rich heritage and vibrant future of our agricultural sector but significantly boosts our tourism economy,” said Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agency. “Each year, the fair attracts tens of thousands of visitors who join us in celebrating our agricultural achievements while contributing to the local economy through their patronage. Agriculture has been the backbone of Washington County’s past and continues to be a crucial part of our present and future. Events like the Fair underscore the pivotal role that agriculture plays in sustaining our community and fostering economic growth.”
Daily attractions include magic shows, Stone Age show and a petting zoo. Other events throughout the week include baking contests, tractor pulls, steer shows, classic car shows, harness racing, market hog show, senior citizen activities, tractor driving contest, 4-H Horse and Pony show, Mullet hairstyle contest, Hay Hauling, Dairy Goat Show, Market Livestock sale and more.
Daily admission is $15 for adults, and $5 for seniors on Monday, veterans on Tuesday and children (12 and under) on Thursday. Admission includes shows, entertainment and free parking. Weekly passes are $45.
For more information about the fair and a list of events, please visit washingtonfair.org
Sponsored content brought to you by the Washington County Fair