RSSKittitas County Fair is Ellensburg's big show
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Thousands of people will converge on Ellensburg this weekend where a rodeo, county fair, live entertainment and carnival rides combine to create the town's largest annual event.
Gates open this morning for the start of scores of animal exhibits, rodeo riders taking on rough stock, and a long lineup of entertainers, including Elvis impersonator Danny Vernon from California and Montana's country western singer John Dunnigan.
There will also be a kids corner featuring a tractor pull and Wild West show.
"We think this year is going to be our biggest year," said entertainment coordinator Jerry Jarnagin. "We have a lot of stuff."
The event draws about 75,000 people over the weekend, said Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce visitor information specialist Mike McCloskey.
Hotel rooms in town are already booked, he said.
"It's pretty hard to find lodging," he added.
Each year, crowds line the downtown streets just to view the Saturday morning parade.
"It's considered even the horsiest parade in the West," McCloskey said. "Thousands watch every year."
Organizing the event in this town of 17,000 residents is a community affair, he said.
"Nearly everybody in town is involved one way or another," he said. "School (opening) is even held off a week because so many of our kids are involved in the fair and rodeo."
Work setting up for the event began two weeks ago with a free breakfast that fed 1,000 people, he said.
Most food and craft vendors set up earlier this week, and organizers spent Tuesday registering the roughly 460 pigs, goats and rabbits that will be on display at the fair, said fair office clerk Rachel Tisdale.
"There's a lot of stuff going on at once, but it's going," she said.
* Phil Ferolito can be reached at 577-7749 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com.
Kittitas County Fair
* Kittitas County Fairgrounds -- Gate at 512 N. Poplar St., Ellensburg. Gates open at 10 a.m. Thursday through Monday
* Parade -- 9:30 a.m. Saturday, downtown Ellensburg.
* Ellensburg Rodeo --Thursday, 7 a.m. slack; Friday, 6:45 p.m. start; Saturday and Sunday, 12:45 p.m. start; Monday, 11:45 a.m. finals.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct erroneous information that appeared in the originally published version.
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