Winner of the Western Fair Association’s

Prestigious Merrill Award!

The Tri-County Fair has won the fair industry’s most coveted award, The Merrill Award, given by the Western Fairs Association (WFA) highlighting the Fair’s leadership and commitment to community excellence.

The Fair’s Drive-In and Tailgate Entertainment Venue took home the prestigious Merrill Award during the annual WFA Convention. The Merrill Award is given to fairs that clearly demonstrate innovation, vision, creative management, excellence in marketing and commitment to community. Fairs are nominated and then the winners are selected by an executive committee.

Jen McGuire, CEO stated, “This is the Oscars of the Fair Industry. Bishop has never been nominated let alone brought home this award. It’s quite an honor. We competed against Oregon State Fair, The OC Event Center, just to name a few that had phenomenal programs.“

The Drive-In and Tailgate Venue was nominated for many reasons. One, it was built from recycled materials. Two, the price of a ticket helped many local businesses during a difficult time. The purchase of a ticket has helped our historic Bishop Theatre, local audio and sound company, local video company, local food vendors, local printers as we printed banners, local social media company, local website company, local trash company, local advertisers such as newspapers and radio stations. Plus, other nonprofits have held their events in the venue which allowed them to raise money to put back into the community.

The venue is a true grassroots community event which makes it special. It brought our community together during a dark time.

PLUS, the Fair also brought home the following awards in the Small Fairs Division:

1st and 2nd place – Virtual Livestock Show
1st and 2nd place – Drive In Entertainment
1st and 3rd place – Community Involvement

The above entries were submitted online with the attached pictures and detailed report representing
each category.

The Tri-County Fairgrounds would like to thank the following for assisting with the build or sponsoring of the venue: LA DWP, Inyo County, Inyo/Mono County Tobacco Prevention, City of Bishop, Laughing Parrot Productions, ES Entertainment, Holly Cavey, Bill’s Towing, High Country Lumber, Brown’s Salvage, Bishop Waste, Stelth Ulvang Band.

A special THANK YOU to all of patrons that purchased a ticket to an event. Your purchase helped many businesses. THANK YOU. We will be announcing a full entertainment line-up very soon.

The Tri-County Fair Needs Your Help!

The California Fair Industry needs your help, including the Tri-County Fairgrounds. Our industry is facing bankruptcy, with many California Fairgrounds preparing for complete closure as early as this month due to COVID 19. Mass gatherings are currently the last phase of the re-opening plan for California, which is forecasted to be months away. This means ZERO revenue opportunities for fairgrounds. We’ve had to be self-sufficient by generating funds through various events which is not possible at this time. We already operate on a very tight budget and losing this entire event season is catastrophic. We don’t qualify for the SBA Loans or the Paycheck Protection Programs. Since we are a District Agricultural Association, we look to the state for help. Governor Newsom has made it clear that we should not anticipate any type of “emergency funding” to get us through these times. This is scary, this is real, it’s not exaggerated, and yes, this will eventually affect YOUR Tri-County Fairgrounds which serves the communities of Inyo, Mono and Alpine Counties.

How can you help? I am working with a Network of California Fairs on a grassroots campaign to make our case to the Legislature for essential emergency funding. Sacramento needs to hear our voice! They need to know what the fair does for our community, education, the economic development of our county, and for you. They need to know that we are more than just a place to purchase a corn dog, we serve the community year round as community and emergency evacuation centers. I ask that you send a personalized letter to each of the emails listed below (in your respective district) and show the need for this emergency funding source. I have included a sample letter that can be used or you can personalize it to your position on this issue. It’s time to bang on the door and let Sacramento hear our voice! #fairstrong

We are stronger together, and together we intend to prevail…please help!

Write a Letter of Support (WORD DOC)

Read Letter from State of California

Nostalgic about the Fair?

There’s nothing quite like the nostalgia of the county fair. The sights, the smells, the sounds of the carnival. Remember when a year felt like such a long time and summer seemed to last forever? With school out for summer and friends going their separate ways, the fair was such an exciting time to meet up with friends and have fun. Recall the feeling on top of the world atop the miles-high Ferris Wheel, and eating treats you couldn’t get anywhere else? Or, how about that feeling like you lost your stomach after riding the Scrambler? Entering your family’s secret pie or cookie recipe in hopes of that blue ribbon. The rainbow of lights as the sun went down, mixed with the tempting smells of fried treats and the spark of excitement in the air that comes from knowing that this event is so special, it only happens once a year. The Tri-County Fair has a wealth of activities to entertain people of all ages, from animals, magic shows, thrilling rides, tasty foods, horse shows, rodeos, to live music and the cheering of your favorite car in the demolition derby. We hand select all of the entertainment to make this the BEST FOUR DAYS OF SUMMER! Helping you make memories, makes us happy. See you at the Fair or anywhere in between! -Jen