 When you think about the El Paso County fairgrounds, you no doubt think about the fair. But it offers a lot more than just a week of fun. We have all sorts of different activities throughout the year at the fairgrounds. The obvious use is for the equestrian and ag community. The outdoor rodeo arena is a wonderful venue for small group horse shows, barrel races, small junior rodeos, those kinds of activities. The fairgrounds are even busy in the wintertime thanks to the smaller indoor arena, something we'd like to see used even more. We do host the Snow and Go Gymkhana series in there, but this year we're spicing it up a little bit and we're hosting a bull riding in there. And it will be a series of four events. So, bull riding, horse shows, livestock shows, swine shows. And you can't forget about the race track. The car races begin usually in April and they last through October. And they are every other Saturday evening at the El Paso County Raceway, which is at the fairgrounds. Bringing some pretty good crowds? We do have great crowds. We have a loyal following of race fans. And then there's the community events like the Spring Fling, Father Daughter Day, the Holiday Craft Fair, and the popular Haunted Fall Fest that just continues to grow. Oh, I think we're going to see double the numbers of last year, so we're very excited. And we certainly hope that we're providing a good service to the community. Want to put on your own events? Well, the fairgrounds can help make that happen because it rents out the facilities, including the new open-air pavilion, swing hall, and the Wittemore building for the larger events. We've hosted everything from rummage sales and basketball practices to dozens of weddings like the Geist wedding. Yeah, we had close to 200 people and it fit everybody really well and there was enough room for everybody to have space and not be on top of each other and it was really good. It also provides some freedom that other venues just don't offer. You can choose your own caterers or you can do the food yourself. So that frees up a lot. We don't have contracted bands or music providers, DJs, that kind of thing. So our winters have the freedom to choose what they would like to use. On top of that, Dustin and Heather say it was an absolute steal to rent. Really, really good. Way cheaper than anywhere else in town. I think it works really well. The number of people we had and everything, it works really well. I think if we had to do it again, we'd probably do it here. And the county is hoping to host even more groups in the future. El Paso County Fairgrounds has so much potential for community use as well as the private sector. But we sit out in an area where sometimes we get overlooked as a facility for a special occasion. And that's something that we are really wanting to change. It's well worth the drive to Calhan. It's an easy country drive out Highway 24 East. It's only 30 minutes. And when you get there, it's a quiet, comfortable, relaxing atmosphere. And it's very family friendly. We're very low key out there. We love to meet new people and we'd love to have you come rent from us. For a list of upcoming events and information about renting some of the county facilities out at the fairgrounds, go to www.El PasoCountyFair.com.