Families can grin and bear it at the County Fair

Come see the bears.

Not the ones running amok around Colorado Springs this time of year.

These are pampered show bears, who do stunts and wear flowers around their necks. The bears are a featured act at El Paso County Fair, which opens Saturday and runs for a week.

There will also be reptiles doing tricks as well as the usual talented livestock.

The fair withstood the county’s budget cuts and region’s economic woes.

“It has made it harder to get our sponsorships, but our sponsors have come though this year,” said Dana Nordstrom, fair community outreach coordinator. “Our community gets together and makes sure the fair continues ­— and continues to improve. There aren’t any tax dollars used for the fair.”

Saturday is Military Day, with free admission for active-duty military families. Everybody gets in for $1 on Wednesday. There are various discounted admission specials daily.

Contests range from pie-eating to pet costumes. Other highlights include a ventriloquist, rodeos, beer tent, dances, car races, tractor pulls and monster trucks.

“We’ve changed it to get more high-tech, more multi-purpose,” fair board member Orbin “Junior” Hall said. “Over the years, we’ve tried to change to meet the community, to keep up with the times. What used to be heavy milking country and farming country around here has slowly went away.”

Some things haven’t changed.

“We still have the basic county fair stuff. Getting kids involved, that’s the important part,” Hall said.
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Call the writer at 636-0253.

For a full scheule, click here.

Upcoming county fairs:
Teller County Fair; July 29-Aug. 2;: tellercountyfair.com
Fremont County Fair; July 25-Aug. 2: fremontcountyfair.com
Elbert County Fair; July 25-Aug. 2: elbertcountyfair.com