Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo

On Sunday, August 2, the last day of the 2026 fair, six teams of high school rodeo athletes rode in the Hooker Creek Duel in the Desert at 2:00 p.m. in the First Interstate Bank Center. Each team carried a sponsor’s name: Smith Rock Electric, Tri-County Paving, Jack Robinson Construction, Jeff Larkin Realty, Eagle Crest, and ABBAS. The same day brought the Wild Ride Brewing Demolition Derby and a free afternoon concert by Banda Carnaval. Along the midway the stands sold giant corn dogs, fresh-cut and curly fries, barbecue, burgers, elephant ears, kettle corn, lemonade, ice cream, funnel cakes, and, in the fair’s own list, “something deep-fried.”

The Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo fills a 320-acre expo site off SW Airport Way in Redmond for five days each summer. The grounds sit at the hub of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties, 15 minutes from Bend and 5 from the Redmond Airport. The Redmond Spokesman counts seven snowcapped peaks in the view from the grounds, among them Mt. Bachelor, the Three Sisters, Broken Top, and Mt. Jefferson, with Smith Rock in the nearer distance. Up to 85 percent of the grounds is lawn.

Five days in the summer of 2026

The 2026 fair, the 106th, ran July 29 through August 2. It had livestock shows, 4-H and FFA exhibits, a carnival, the Off Axis Stunt Show, the K9 Kings Flying Dog Show, magicians, and hypnotists. Every gate ticket included general-admission seating at the rodeo and at the evening concerts of the Kendall Toyota of Bend Free Summer Concert Series. Sara Evans played on July 29, Tyler Hubbard on July 30, and Ja Rule on July 31, each at 8:00 p.m. A day’s unlimited-ride wristband for the carnival cost $45, with admission sold separately. Events go on rain or shine.

When the gates closed, the fair thanked the firefighters and wildfire crews working across Central Oregon, whose work had let the community gather “during a challenging wildfire season.” Teardown left about 80 extra straw bales behind the Wilco Barns, between Buildings B and C. Staff offered them free to anyone with a truck or trailer to load whole bales by hand. A later post announced: “THEY ARE ALL GONE!!!!”

Visitors can stay on the grounds. The Expo RV Park, open since 2007, has 105 full-hookup sites with electric, water, and sewer, by the park’s own count; the Spokesman gives 106. The fair is within walking distance, and Juniper Golf Course is directly across the street.

The county’s Fair & Expo Center produces the fair with the Deschutes County Fair Association, a nonprofit whose directors each take a share of the work. In 2026 Cary Penhallow, president, handled camping. Gary Frazee ran the shuttles, Chad Greene open-class beef, Kerri Green open-class small animals, and Roxia Thornton the rodeo and the queen program.

Seven events under the NPRA

The headline rodeo runs under the NPRA and holds seven events.

• Bareback riding. The rider grips the leather handhold of a rigging for at least 8 seconds while his arm absorbs most of the horse’s power. The higher the spurs, the higher the score.
• Saddle bronc. The cowboy holds one rein tied to the halter. Too low a grip can pull him over the front; too high, and he may be bucked off the back.
• Bull riding. A thick braided bullrope with a handhold is wrapped around the bull. A cowbell weights it so the rope falls away when the ride ends.
• Steer wrestling. The steer gets a 12-foot head start on the rider’s nod. He chases it down and stops it by the horns.
• Tie-down roping. The cowboy ropes a calf, dismounts on the run, turns it on its side, and ties three legs.
• Team roping. The header ropes the horns and turns the steer, and the heeler ropes the back legs. A one-leg catch costs 5 seconds, and the clock stops when the riders face each other.
• Barrel racing. Riders circle three barrels in a cloverleaf and race back across the scoreline.

Each year the Fair Association recruits a Deschutes County Rodeo Queen to represent the fair. Gracie Tucker held the 2026 title. Tryouts for the 2027 court were held on the expo grounds on September 26, 2026.

The Netted Gem and the fight with Bend

The fair began with potatoes. In the early 1900s potatoes were a major Redmond export, grown in what The Bulletin calls the area’s nutrient-rich, well-draining soil. In 1906 farmers started the Potato Show to meet, compete, and show off Redmond’s specially developed Deschutes Netted Gem potato. Janet Alexander of the Redmond Historical Society calls the potato “delicious.” The Spokesman says the area’s first settlers held agricultural events there before Redmond was incorporated.

Deschutes County was created on December 13, 1916, out of Crook County. Bend and Redmond then fought over which town would host the official county fair. Alexander’s account in the Spokesman describes “a bitter dispute with Bend over who would be the county seat.” Redmond’s citizens and officials raised money, expanded the racetrack, and built a 1,200-seat grandstand and exhibition buildings. They added events, increased prizes, and renamed the gathering the Redmond Potato Show and County Fair. In 1921 the state designated Redmond the official site. According to Alexander, the infield of that racetrack was also Redmond’s first airport.

Sources disagree on when the county fair itself began. The Bulletin’s 2019 timeline says the first Deschutes County Fair opened October 14, 1919, at Highland Avenue and Canal Boulevard. The Fair Association says the formal fair started in 1919 and the first official fair was held in 1920. The early fairs ran in September or October, after harvest, when the region’s ranchers and farmers were free. The first Fair Parade in 1919 brought horse-drawn wagons and homemade floats through Redmond. Two years later Redmond and Bend high schools played their first football game of the season at the fair, and the game became a recurring rivalry.

Arches, chariots, and a Buckaroo Breakfast

The 1922 Open Class took fruits, vegetables, flowers, and farm animals, along with women’s clothing, inventions, and horse racing. By the 1930s, The Bulletin reports, the rodeo was a staple. Schools, banks, and businesses closed for a few hours or a couple of days so people could attend, and some years the big mills moved payday up to give workers money to spend at the fair. In 1937 fairgoers lined up for the Driving React-o-meter, which tested how fast drivers reacted to different stimuli.

In 1944 the first Buckaroo Breakfast was served at Roberts Field to sell war bonds. It later merged with the fair; The Bulletin says no one is sure exactly when. In 1950 the Redmond Saddle Club put on a horse show, advertised as double the fun for the same money. The Bulletin calls it the first time horses were shown alongside the other livestock as a major part of the fair. Chariot racing was introduced as a new event in 1961, though it had appeared in earlier decades. A 1978 4-H program included knitting, crocheting, measuring ingredients, setting a table, and hosting a luncheon.

By 1985 the stucco arches at the fairgrounds entrance were in major disrepair. Some wanted them torn down; others wanted an expensive restoration. With much persuasion from the community, the fair board stripped off the stucco and re-sided the arches in cedar. In 1989 the Charlie Daniels Band and Paul Revere and the Raiders became the first major national acts to play the fair. Concerts have been free with gate admission since 2003.

From Canal Boulevard to Airport Way

The old grounds covered 33 acres and had very little parking. The last fair there ran July 29 to August 2, 1998. The next summer the fair opened on the new Airport Way grounds, July 27 to August 1, 1999, at a site built for year-round use. In August 2001 a Family Motor Coach Association rally brought more than 5,000 motor coaches to the property. In 2003, while the Booth fire burned nearby, President George W. Bush stopped at the expo center to address the damage. It was the first presidential visit to the new facility. The fair marked its centennial in 2019 under the slogan “100 Years of Fun Since Day One!”

On a Wednesday in May 2020, the Deschutes County Commissioners meeting announced that the 2020 fair was canceled. Fair Association president Gladys Sappington explained the vote: “For the safety of the community, for the safety of us, and just making sure that we are making the right decision for this.” Commissioner Patti Adair called it “the teeter-totter that we’re dealing with here.” The county considered a virtual auction for animals raised by students. Teegan Wallace, a 4-H member and senior at Mountain View, lost her final fair. “With animals it’s a hands-on thing,” she said. “So it’s kind of hard to do that part virtual.”

The fair returned July 28 to August 1, 2021, as the 101st edition, under the theme “Back in the Saddle.” Fair & Expo director Geoff Hinds announced it: “We know that the fair is a special tradition for so many in our community.” The old grounds where it all began, at Canal Boulevard and Sixth Street, now hold a Fred Meyer and a Lowe’s. Alexander gives directions for finding the place: “You’ll know you’re in the right place if you can park your car where horses used to race.”