By Coben Scott
While Colorado prepares for its 150th anniversary of statehood, El Paso County celebrated 120 years of the county fair.
The county honored its past and present in several ways, starting with a potato bake-off and horse races. The mascots for this year were two cartoon potatoes that were featured on billboards and posters across the region. Their tagline was “A Spudtacular Journey.”
Each day celebrated a themed decade. The first day fit the first decade of the fair’s operation — the 1900s to the 1910s. The main showcase was a Houdini-esque magician, who provided homage to the Golden Age of Magic. Potato juggling and roaring 20s events with poker and speakeasies were included in early 90s celebration. The 1930s and 1940s included a performance by the United Service Organization, along with potato peeling and arm wrestling competitions. The 1950s day included old-school carnival games and a presentation of the movie, “Grease.” The 1960s and 1970s day revived the popular silent goat disco, along with a mashed potato sculpting contest and a limbo participation. The 1980s were represented with roller skates and Rubik’s cubes. The 1990s to 2000s held an all-day Y2K party and an evening 90s karaoke. Today’s modern era included a social media scavenger hunt, the junior livestock show and the demolition derby.
The 2025 County Fair Queen, Madison Finlay-Wagner of Peyton, participated in games and interacted with guests. Finlay-Wagner got her start early showing horses with 4 H, and proudly rode her horse across the stadium grounds to kick off the rodeo.
In the pit of the rodeo, the Pikes Peak Rangerettes were on hand and the cowboys were preparing to ride bucking horses and bulls — many of the riders lasted only a few seconds.
Alpacas and Llamas were present, too, along with other animals. And there were plenty of food choices and arts and crafts.
The demolition derby was sold out. Prior to the smashing of vehicles, first responders from around the county were introduced. Ambulances, fire engines and sheriff cars circled the track. A mix of full and half-buses raced around the track for a time before the demolitionists entered the scene and destroyed vehicles.
There was also a game called Backseat Driver, where duos of drivers maneuvered a lawnmower (with a trailer) around traffic cones. The catch was that the driver had to be blindfolded and the passenger gave the directions.
One of the seasonal employees, Spenser Matan, said, “I’ve been here a lot growing up, and it’s really great to finally be behind the scenes at the fair. It’s been great this season, and everyone (guests and staff) always look happy to be here.”
Awards were handed out for the best cakes, cookies, jams and other culinary delights, all created by the 4-H participants.
Mad Chad thrilled or chilled the crowd with his unique juggling acts, which included juggling three chainsaws!
Based out of Las Vegas, Thrill Extravaganza incorporates four miniature performances in their show. They begin with a wheel of danger, where a performer runs blindfolded with no safety gear on top of a spinning structure!
