Carson City Fair returning July 27-30, 2017

The Carson City Fair is coming back.

After a year off, the livestock and agricultural event is scheduled to return to Fuji Park on July 27-30, 2017.

The four-day event will again feature 4-H and Future Farmers of America livestock shows and auction, carnival rides, food vendors, arts and crafts booths, and live entertainment.

A team led the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is organizing the revitalized event now.

“It’s very much a partnership, a new model that we hope will be sustainable for years to come,” said Lindsay Chichester, extension educator in UNCE’s Carson City office.

UNCE, which oversees 4-H, is managing the livestock portion of the fair planned for the first three days of the event and featuring dairy cattle and goat shows, and a livestock auction.

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, the volunteer organization that hosts a Nevada Day weekend carnival and the Mother’s Day carnival as its main fundraisers, is organizing the carnival and vendors, said Chichester.

Northern Nevada Antique Power Club is putting together a tractor show, exhibits and swap meet to be held the last two days of the fair.

The Carson City Visitors Bureau is helping with marketing and promotion, and the city is providing the park venue, logistics and transportation, which includes the Jump Around Carson Route 3 bus that stops at Fuji Park.

The fair was originally put on by the city in 2014 and 2015 using a third-party operator.

But the free event cost the city money and then the Nevada State Fair started up again after being dormant for six years and came to Carson City’s Mills Park in June.

So the Board of Supervisors in March voted to cancel the Carson City Fair, but directed staff to work on finding partners for it so that at least the unique, agriculture-focused piece of it could continue.

Chichester said anyone interested in sponsoring, making a donation or volunteering can contact her at 887-2252 or chichesterl@unce.unr.edu.

The group has already had an in-kind donation from Quick Space, the Sparks provider of portable restrooms.

She said plans are for staff and volunteers to wear a T-shirt during the fair with sponsors and donors names printed on it.

“My goal is to have enough donated prior to the fair that we may not have to charge for parking,” said Chichester.