Lincoln County Fair and Rodeo less than a month away

As the historic summer of 2020 continues to roll on, many residents of Lincoln County have been asking the same question: will there be a fair and rodeo this year? 

The answer to that question is a resounding yes, according to Kathy Cook, a member of the rodeo committee that reached out to the Record. This year’s slogan will be: “One Great County, One Great Fair!”

This rodeo will be unique in the fact that there will be a much higher need for community-submitted exhibits due to the effect COVID-19 has had on the 4H program; specifically, the 4H clubs could not gather and prepare their exhibits when the schools were shut down. There will be special prizes and ribbons handed out, and the rodeo committee is excited to see how many people participate.

“Let’s get some entries going,” said Cook.

While an exact event schedule will be posted in the Lincoln County Record and in booklets the fair committee will distribute around the county soon, the rough schedule is as follows: 

Wednesday, August 12 will host the first set of cowdog trials. It’s also the day people are required to submit their exhibits for the fair (general exhibits will be accepted from noon until 7 p.m.).

The Ranch Rodeo will begin the next day at 7 a.m., and Thursday evening will see the first set of jackpot barrel racing. The rodeo will really get going on Friday, starting with the opening of the exhibit hall and the jackpot team roping in the morning. In the afternoon, they’ll accept entries for mutton busting at 3 and hold the event at 4. At 5 p.m., head over to the fair hall for a community dinner, and stick around for the night rodeo and dance, with music provided by the band, Muddy Boots.

On Saturday, the earliest event associated with the rodeo will be the Just for Kicks 10K & 5K, Rodeo Edition, put on by Rock Road Adventures at 6 a.m. The junior rodeo will start at 8 a.m., as will the 4-H trap shoot just east of the main rodeo grounds. Another round of jackpot team roping will be held, and in the afternoon a Pee-Wee rodeo will be held for the younger cowgirls and cowboys in the county. Mutton busting will be held at the same times as the day before, followed by another community dinner. Then, at 6:30 p.m., the rodeo royalty will be crowned, followed by another night rodeo and dance.

Younger fairgoers will have plenty to do as well throughout the weekend between the bouncy house, kite-building classes and many more fun activities.

As for coronavirus-specific preparations, the rodeo committee said, “We have promised all that we will follow all directives to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. It is extremely important for us to keep our local community healthy, as well as the visitors to our community.” 

Specific precautions include the request that anyone feeling sick stay home. While masks are welcome, the committee will not enforce their use. Additionally, signs will be posted around the fairgrounds to help remind people to keep to the guidelines set out by the CDC and the state, and further precautions will be discussed during the committee’s next meeting.