Eileen Georges’ six children grew up among the manicured lawns and the tract housing of Aurora, the third-largest city in Colorado.
But every couple of weeks she drives them up to their uncle’s ranch in Craig, so the children can spend the weekend visiting their cattle. Every year, each child receives a calf, raises it at the ranch, and sells it at the Arapahoe County Fair.
This year marked the 100th anniversary of the fair, where people like the Georges are bringing a different face to the fairgrounds of a county in which farms are outnumbered by housing developments.
“We wanted them to understand what their heritage was and where they were coming from,” Eileen Georges said. “Growing up in town, you don’t always get to see that.”
When the Arapahoe County Fair started in 1906, the county was composed of typical Western rural towns, said Dale Edwards, director of the cooperative extension program for Arapahoe County.
But as Colorado grew and parts of the county were lopped off, Arapahoe eventually developed a split between the western part of the county – composed of mostly urban areas – and the eastern part, made up of farming and ranching towns.
Fair organizers, working with a permanent site for the first time in 21 years, must strive to appeal to an audience that includes Aurora and Englewood, as well as Deer Trail and Watkins, said fair manager Jim Abendschan.
That means the 4-H livestock shows and cake decorating contest that are the hallmarks of a county fair must be joined by carnival rides, fishing tanks and video game tents, Abendschan said. But, he said, the fair should still serve as a means of stoking interest and educating the public about farming.
“The absolute base of the fair has got to be agriculture,” he said. “Then we add all the fluff to it and make it fun.”
Many of those participating in the fair Sunday were families who already rejected the suburbs for the charms of an east county life. One of these families was the Williamses, who fled Silicon Valley, Calif., more than a decade ago for 20 acres in Strasburg. Their two children were the senior and junior champions in pig showmanship this year, even though their parents arrived knowing nothing about farm animals.
“It’s just the idea that you’re living out there, with your own piece of land,” Darrell Williams said. “We literally had a condo where you looked out your window and into someone else’s.”
Many families from the suburbs stopped by to scope out the fair Sunday, and some said they wanted to see their children involved with livestock as they grew up.
Centennial resident Racheal Rupprecht, 8, braved the Pee-Wee Showmanship event, where she had her first experience guiding a pig around an arena.
“I’ve never really gotten to do stuff with pigs,” she said. “He was cute.”
Staff writer Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer can be reached at 303-820-1316 or at awittmeyer@denverpost.com.
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