El Paso County Fair and Events Center — Local services in Four Corners States

This is the smallest and lowest quality fair I've ever been to in my life. Getting in was quick and easy and the ticket price was good at $8. The "vendors" were either local mom and pops selling homemade candy, a bunch of political booths, or the same three franchise booths selling sunglasses. Lots of Ag stuff like cowboy hats, boots, leather, and livestock (which I was too afraid to go look at from the quality of the barn and pens because I knew it would just make me sad for them). A band playing to an empty dance floor. Rides for kids and a pirate show, which was also for kids (a few diver's and jokes). The food vendors looked clean and there were a good amount of them. The "art" area was some quilts, photos, and food that had won first place, second place, etc. Although there must be a lot of first place's. The first place bread and food were rotting so bad, it was more green and white fuzzy mold than food at that point. Why would you leave it out and not throw it away at that point is beyond me, but it was disgusting. I was disappointed none of the art was for sale. I mean the art booths had Barbie's and American girl dolls????? This should be called the "Small Town Calhan Fair", not the "County Fair" for all of El Paso. For the 40 min drive out there and back from the Springs, it was not worth it and we will never go back with all the better, larger, and more diverse fair/festival options in the...

Honestly, I wouldn't go to this fair again. The food was good, the animals seemed well taken care of, and the butterfly extravaganza was pretty cool; but that's about as far as I can go with the positives. The elephant show that was put on this year horrified me. The organization that put on the show mentioned nothing about themselves and their name or what, if any, conservation work they did. One of the African elephants was swaying back and forth (weaving), which is not the sign of a happy elephant. The Asian elephant was made to give rides, which is not good for the animal either. After years of strain, the spine of the elephant degrades and prevents the elephant from using their back legs as well. The barns the livestock were kept in seemed rundown and in need of a paint job. And last, and just as horrifying, one of the games was giving out live goldfish as a prize. Contrary to popular belief, goldfish do not thrive in just a bowl on the counter. It's recommended for a goldfish to have a minimum of 20-30 gallons and a filter. Something a parent who's child comes home with a fish probably won't be able to accommodate on a whim. All-in-all I'd only go again if improvements were made to the welfare of...

To start off we had a good time on Thursday with the exception they cancled the tractor pull. But then comes demo derby day and my friend wanted to join us but the tickets were sold out so he thought if he bought the more expensive ticket being the pit pass he would be able to hanngout with us in the bleachers, this was his first time at the fair, he had high hopes, but was proved wrong. Just because he bought the more expensive ticket he couldnt purchace beer to drink and enjoy with us. Strike one, then he got some nachos from the concessions stand and it was cold, horrable food. Strike 2 but when it came to the event he was told that he cant sit with us in the grand stands because he had the pit pass. What kind of bull is that. You pay more and get less, so he got mad and stormed out, but the next person that came up they had a pit pass and the staff let him right up into the grand stands. me and my wife who had normal tickets also decited to leave.. Needless to say none of my family will be returning to this fair...