Clark County Fairgrounds, Logandale, NV-

The Clark County Fair and Rodeo in Logandale, NV had the sunset in the west on the final day of the week-long celebration and annual event on Sunday at 9:00 pm PST. The result of the week was a massive attendance count on Saturday and Sunday, April 9 & 10, 2022.

“The reported total amount of those who attended the fair this year was 109,000,” said Clark County Fair Representative Shannon Zobrist.

The massive attendance number easily overpowered the previous record of 88,000 set in the year 2008.

“This was a great way to come back,” said Clark County Fair Manager Kevin Willard.

The weather helped with the massive attendance as the weather for the whole week was overall, excellent. There were a few winds and gusts that made it a little hard at times but it was sporadic. Sunday, the weather was the best where it was a high of 75°F with most of the weather being in the lower to mid-70s for the day. The wind was up to 13 mph for the day. The most the wind got up to during the fair was 28 mph for gusts with an average of 10 mph overall.

The fair has always in past years had always had at least one day of bad weather according to locals. Locales related how the weather usually has one or two days of high gusts of wind, sand storms, and even rain.

“The weather was absolutely wonderful,” said Bull Kings Vendor Tom Smith. “Really helped with the sales.”

The Bull Kings Booth itself saw records fall as well. They reported on their social media all of their sales records were set during the week, mainly the weekend.

The PRCA Rodeo did not fail at keeping the audience entertained. The rodeo had sold-out shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with the cowboys and cowgirls putting together a show that did not disappoint. Highly competitive and some of the best performances of the year by the amazing athletes happened during the rodeo in Logandale. Thursday, for example, they had 4 straight top performance runs in the steer wrestling event with times ranging from 3.9 to 4.4. (Keep watching for our upcoming article about the Rodeo)

The PRCA Rodeo did not disappoint at the Clark County Fair. (Photo: Damon Jackson)

The Steer Wrestlers had an absolutely great showing during the week. (Photo: Damon Jackson)

The mutton busting also kept large crowds in attendance as people found it fun to watch the youth try to hang on while riding a wooly animal. With 3 competitions per day, locals and visitors found time to enjoy the show and applaud the kids’ bravery and toughness. Including the top score of the week occurring on Sunday with a 91. (Keep watching for our upcoming article about the Mutton Busting Results)

A well-visited vendor was the Stunt Jump. Crowds of youth and adults found it fun to try and jump off a high platform onto a stunt airbag (though some needed some coaxing to take the final leap). The attraction was regularly visited throughout the weekend. The most impressive was a young 8-year-old girl from Las Vegas who went not once…not twice… not three, four, or five… not even six times, but seven times jumped from the big platform. Here was a little girl with a cute dress and a bow in her hair outdoing everyone else including adults.

“She loves it and has no fear,” said her father, Brandon Donofrio.

Both Elizabeth’s father and mother explained she has always taken things head-on with no fear. They also explained Elizabeth takes trapeze classes. However, no matter the training for the trapeze, Elizabeth still put on a show for everyone else.

Besides the stunt jump, the pony rides, bungee harness trampoline jump, wildlife tent, and more brought new and unique opportunities for youth to experience. The Nevada Department of Wildlife had a whole setup with educational opportunities and chances for youth to try fishing, archery, and even seeing real animals in life. The live snakes they had on hand surprised and scared people. They had a Sonoran Mountain King Snake as well as a Mohave Green Rattlesnake amongst others.

They had several types of vendors, from Food Vendors to Political Candidates, apparel, and shopping of all types. Most of the vendors found success throughout the week. Some, however, struggled until Saturday and Sunday. The huge crowds on those days helped to regain lost investments in the opportunity to sell at the fair.

“Today was an incredibly busy day. Good day,” summed up Tom Smith, owner of Bull Kings. “The most people I have seen on Sunday since I was young.”

Bull Kings sells Rodeo and Western-themed apparel, they donate 25% of their profits to help injured rodeo stars to cover bills and living essentials while injured and recovering. Tom Smith grew up in Moapa Valley and is a full-time firefighter for Clark County Fire Department.

The best food vendors actually seemed to be the local vendors, including the White Boys Tacos, Fired Up Creations, and Kuppa Joe. The other food vendors also provided great options, including the Original Texas Twister drink which has become a regular fair favorite. The other fair favorites included the turkey legs, corn on a cob, and carnival fries. (Watch for the article which reviews the fair food)

A couple of vendors were unique and fun, showcasing talent galore. One such vendor was Crochet Cuddlies out of Las Vegas, Nevada. A young woman, Monique, started the business out of Henderson crochets all types of stuffed animals and other crocheted products.

“I have been crocheting since I was 10 and I am now 25! Started with simple stuff like blankets but now I do these cuddlies,” said Monique.

Each and every crochet item is handmade. Their store can be found at www.crochetcuddlies.bigcartel.com.

Around a couple of dozen political vendors and rights activists group vendors were very visible throughout the weekend. They ranged from candidates running for Governor to Senate to Assembly, Board of Regents, and more. However, a surprise find was there was not one Democratic candidate with a booth. All vendors present were Republican.

These included Joey Gilbert, Joe Lombardo, Guy Nohra, and Fred Simon for the NV Governor race. Those present for Congress were Sam Peters and Sharelle Mendenhall. Also present was Charlie De La Paz for Assembly.

Overall, the entertainment was found to be satisfactory to the crowds as people really enjoyed the animal shows as the Birdman, Cool Dog Productions, and Swifty Swine Pig Racing kept the kids and adults entertained while providing education. As for music, the Legends of Rock had the biggest encore, but all other musical performers like Huckleberry Road, The Doo-Wah Riders, Flashback Heart Attack, Pierce Avenue, Mesquite Café Blues Band, and Moapa Valley local Branson Anderson, had great crowds and excellent performances.

The stage show that brought in the most laughs was the Hypnotist Chris Mabrey, but the stunt showman Matt Baker as well as the impressionist Mike Walker also brought laughs.

No doubt, there was a lot to offer to the crowds and everyone left entertained. Records were broken this year and records are now set to be broken next year. Until then, the sun sets on the family-themed event.

For more information and to keep updated with next year’s plans for the Clark County Fair and Rodeo, visit www.ccfairnrodeo.com.