The annual Juab County Fair is just around the corner, kicking things off with a concert by country music group BlackHawk on June 22. Locals like fair and events coordinator Jamie Garrett are excited to showcase what the county has to offer to those within the community as well as any visitors who might want to have a one-of-a-kind experience.
“The theme for the fair this year is ‘Under the Big Top,’ which is a circus theme,” Garrett Explained.
*At the time of this interview, a circus had not been nailed down yet, but Garret was “99% certain” that there was going to be a circus.
“I have not signed the contract,” she explained. “I’m waiting on it any day, but we’re hoping to have a circus at the fair.”
With the actual fair scheduled for August 2-10, there is still time, but circus or not, the fair and events leading up to it have long been a favorite way for locals to spend the summer. The concert on June 22 will set the tone, followed by the Red Cliffs Roundup Rodeo on July 26 and 27, and then the fair itself that will take place complete with a rodeo and world-renowned Demolition Derby. All of the events still have tickets available, but Garrett said that the Demolition Derby is nearly sold out.
“The Derby has come from being a smaller event to having over 11,000 seats that sell out,” she said. “We were voted number one Derby in the world in 2019. There is no way this stuff would happen without all the people and committees who love what they do.”
Garrett, who has been working as the events coordinator since 2011, said that putting these events together really has become a community event filled with volunteers who love to bring people together in a positive way.
“It takes a village and we definitely are very blessed to have that,” she said. “The fair is 99.9% volunteer, filled with people who care about what they do, care about the community and care about bringing great events and having stuff for the people to enjoy at the fair.”
Garrett said that while there are events like the concert, rodeo and Derby that require tickets, that a good portion of the events at the fair are free of charge or at a reasonable cost.
“Our goal as the Juab County Fair board is to have something for everyone,” Garrett said. “We really try at our fair to have something for everyone, and we try to keep things free or very low cost for people to attend. Our goal is just to have something kind for everyone.
Garrett said that each year they try to add new activities, but that many staples still remain.
“We’re bringing in little new activities like corn haul and the Commissioner Dinner and stuff like that, but the basics are the things that have been there for a while,” she said. “We’ll have the ranch rodeo, the ATV rodeo, and the western night rodeo. My kids and I grew up around here, and my kids all participated in the fair. It’s just a community celebration for everybody in the community.”
As of right now, the event schedule isn’t posted, but Garrett encourages people to look on the event website, juabcountyfair.com for updates and to purchase tickets.
“We’re proud of our fair and we’re one of the largest fairs in Central Utah,” she said. “We really try to do the best and have something for everyone to come and enjoy.
(Juab County Fair volunteers picture above. Photo by Steve Gray)
