The Park County Fairgrounds are coming to life for yet another week of livestock sales and community entertainment. This will be the 113th edition of the Park County Fair and while many events will stay the same, there are a few new twists. 

The fair is featuring more auto events with the addition of a truck pull along with figure 8 racing and the ever-popular demolition derby. The grandstand lineup also includes pig mud wrestling and a concert, which has moved from Thursday to Friday.

“I hope that'll draw a bigger crowd, because going to a show on a Thursday and then having to get up and be at work the next morning, I think that's kind of a deterrent,” said Park County Events Coordinator Billy Wood.

Outside of shifts in the grandstands, this year’s fair has more vendors than Wood has seen in his time at the Park County Fair. 

“I'm essentially out of spaces — all my power’s been spoken for,” Wood said.

Recurring events and services begin to open to the public on Tuesday. The first batch of fair goers will be able to escape into the carnival beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday with rides closing at 11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday the carnival will open at 1 p.m. and close at 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday the carnival will open at noon and bid riders farewell at midnight.

This year’s kid zone event is paintless paintball, Wood added.

Free entertainment can be found throughout fair week from noon to 9 p.m. at the Pepsi Free Stage where there will be music, dancing and even some martial arts. The beer garden will open at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and close at 11 p.m. The garden will open at noon and close at midnight on Friday and Saturday. 

A 4-H breakfast will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday and will be served from the kitchen of Homesteader Hall. 

At 11 a.m. the exhibit hall will open to the public and close at 10:30 p.m. each day for the rest of the week. The livestock barns will be open to the public until Saturday, from noon until 10:30 p.m.

Each day of the week is sponsored by a local business:

• Tuesday is Family Fun for Everyone Day sponsored by Healthy Park County and One Health;

• Wednesday is Wild West Wednesday sponsored by Yellowstone Motors;

• Thursday is Community Spirit Day sponsored by Northwest College;

• Friday is Family Fun Fair Day, sponsored by Big Horn Basin Media;

• Kick Up Your Heels Day on Saturday is sponsored by Absaroka Door. 

Tickets for the fair are $16 for a weekly pass or $6 for a daily pass.

Admission is free all day Tuesday. The Big Horn Boxing Club will hold a special demonstration from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday in a boxing ring set up on the concrete next to the fair office. Patrons can also end their day with pig mud wrestling at 7 p.m. This year, tickets are $6.

Fair admission is free until 1 p.m. Wednesday, with figure 8 racing at 7 p.m. General admission is $17 and any remaining box seats are $23.

Thursday will also have free admission until 1 p.m. Patrons can end the day with the revival of a long-dormant grandstand event: truck pulling. It’s returning to the Park County Fair for the first time in roughly 10 years, Wood said. General admission is $12 and box seats are $17. The event begins at 7 p.m.

On Friday, country singer Tyler Rich will perform after Jared Rogers, a Wyoming artist, kicks off the event. Tickets are $23 for general seating and $28 for box and floor seats. Gates will open at 5 p.m. and the concert starts at 6 p.m. 

Saturday will close out the 2024 fair with several big events. The Park County Fair Parade begins at 10 a.m., making its way down Bent Street.

The Junior Livestock Sale follows at 1 p.m., back at the fairgrounds. It’s an opportunity for community members to support Park County youth by bidding on the livestock they carefully raised themselves.

Capping off the evening is the demolition derby at 6 p.m. in the grandstands. Tickets are $23 for general seating while box seats sold out well in advance.

To purchase tickets for the fair or any of its events and for more information, visit parkcountyeventsandfair.com.