Prepping for the 101st Deschutes County Fair, and beyond

Large land acquisition, upgrades are being discussed

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Deschutes County Fair Association held its annual meeting Monday evening to celebrate a rich history and learn more about plans for this year's 101st annual fair, as well as a glimpse of future improvements.

Believe it or not, we are just over six months away from the next Deschutes County Fair.

Fair association President Gladys Sappington oversees the rodeo portion of the fair and says she's passionate about keeping the tradition of the rodeo, along with supporting local agriculture.

"I've just been doing it for so many years now and grew up here, and it's such a huge passion for me," Sappington said. "And my grandpa being involved in it years ago, and it's just huge to continue that tradition through Deschutes County."

Sappington said she is excited to build on the success of last year's 100th annual fair.

That's something Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center director Geoff Hinds echoed.

Hinds said last year's fair broke attendance records, and with that success, the Deschutes County Fairgrounds looks to expand and improve its facilities.

Hinds said that kind of investment is something he hopes can benefit the entire community.

"We're really excited," Hinds said. "A great opportunity here that the residents here are tremendous, Central Oregonians are great people, and we are really excited and honored to have the opportunity to work for them and have this great facility that we get to celebrate and enjoy."

Hinds said two projects are in the works for the fairgrounds, one being acquiring 140 more adjacent acres the fairgrounds in the top five in the nation in terms of size and preparing for future needs of the growing area.

He also pointed to a planned remodeling of the current buildings, to make them more modern and attract more business.

Hinds added they are still in the planning stage for the projects as they work to make sure they are the right things to accomplish for the future of the grounds.