BUTTE, Mont. — The Mining City’s summer fun lineup is always stacked between the Fourth of July parade, the Montana Folk Festival, and An Ri Ra. But you can’t forget this weekend’s specialty as well: the Butte-Silver Bow County Fair.
For one weekend, the Butte Civic Center parking lot turns into the wild west–everything from rodeo ropin’, to live rock ‘n roll, to a food truck fiesta, to daredevil motorbike leaps that Evel Knievel would be proud of.
The County Fair returns this weekend, making its first appearance at the Civic Center in nearly a decade, with construction of the expanded lots all wrapped up.
And given that one of the questions posed on the official schedule is, “How hard can it be to put a T-shirt on a calf?,” it’s clear that no summer event is better at showing off Butte’s wild side.
“I think this is more of the rugged, rural element [of Butte],” chief executive J.P. Gallagher said. “[Daredevil] Spanky Spangler is going to do his final jump here–that’s legendary. And there’s the rodeo, and, most importantly, the 4H kids and the agriculture business we have that surrounds us, and all the great things that they do here.”
The best part? The majority of the fair’s events are 100% free to enjoy.
However, there are a couple things on Saturday that require entry fees, such as if you want to compete in either the cornhole or pie-eating contest.
Tickets are also $20 to see the grand finale on Saturday Night, as award-winning country band Little Texas performs.
More information about the fair schedule and ticket purchasing options are online at the Butte Civic Center website.