Fair and rodeo a lineup of fun

Kit Carson County • Burlington, Flagler, Seibert, Stratton Fair and rodeo a lineup of fun

Rodeo events, carousel rides, live concerts, cookouts and more fill up the week

By Brittany Anas

Not many places can claim to have an award-winning bullfighter heading up their annual fair and rodeo. But in Kit Carson County, Cor y Wall — a county commissioner and the 2009 PRCA Bullfighter of the Year — organizes the marquee event that’s entering its 104th year this summer.

The 2021 Kit Carson County Fair and Pro Rodeo will be held from July 26-July 31 at the Kit Carson

Competitors come from all over to participate in the rodeo at the Kit Carson County Fairgrounds. (Courtney Cisneros/Burlington Record photo)

County Fairgrounds in Burlington, featuring rodeo events, 4-H shows, live music, cookouts and more.

“This is a very historic event in our community,” stated Wall, a 20-

Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital is a 19 bed Critical Access Hospital with an active Swing Bed program as well as acute care, obstetrics and a 24 hour Emergency Room, classified as a Trauma Level IV Facility. We are open 24 hours a day for Emergency Room care. Visitors are welcomed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and closed on Sundays. After 6 p.m. visitors are required to enter the facility through the Emergency Room. Restricting entrance to the emergency room ensures the safety of our patients and employees. Our emergency room, however, is always open for emergencies. OUR SERVICES

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year veteran of bullfighting who grew up coming to the fair each summer. “It promotes the agricultural way of life and gives back to the youth.”

Several 4-H events take place throughout the week, including livestock sales, as well as goat, swine, and beef shows. On July 29, there’s a free afternoon barbecue that, in past years, has fed more than 4,000 people.

The Rodeo and Bullfighters Only Bullfight on July 30 will bring in three professional bullfighters who are competing for a $5,000 grand prize.

Then, on July 31, a Saturday, a slate of big events are scheduled. To fuel up for an action-packed evening, the Knights of Columbus and Kit Carson County meat producers have an afternoon cookof f ser ving burgers, steaks, brisket and more. The rodeo begins at 7:30 p.m. and is followed by a concer t. This year, the fair has booked Sawyer Brown, an American country music band.

Wall said his goal has been to bring more people into the community for the fair, and the way to do that is with enter tainment, including a top-notch rodeo and concer ts for families to enjoy.

The strategy is working: Over the past dozen years or so, fan attendance to the rodeo has tripled, and the Kit Carson County Fair and Rodeo has become a mini-vacation destination, drawing families from around Colorado as well as surrounding states to take part in the fun.

In addition to the bull riding traditions, there’s some tame rides, too. For a quar ter, you can take a spin on the historic carousel. Nearly 2,500 wooden carousels were car ved in America between 1885 and the 1930s, but fewer than 150 remain today. The fairgrounds in Burlington is home to one of the carefully preser ved carousels.