Murillo Fair 120th

The Chronicle-Journal
Tractor parades, a rodeo, milking competitions, horse shows and racing: the Murillo Fair is certainly staying true to its agricultural roots.
And it’s paying off — the 2011 edition, held over the weekend at the Murillo fair grounds, was the 120th, after all.
It all comes down to two things, said Jazmine Sweitzer, one of the fair directors.
“The community, and how much agriculture there is around here,” she said.
“The horse racing, that’s really big for us. Everybody knows that the Murillo Fair does the chariot racing and horse racing.
“You talk to people that are 70, 80 years old, you tell them you’re with the (fair), and they’re like ‘oh, you still doing the horse racing? Do you race chariots yourself?’”
No official attendance numbers were available on Sunday, but Sweitzer said the crowd looked good. There were lineups and both parking lots were full, she said.
The event featured the usual standbys, Sweitzer said. In addition to the racing and animal shows — horses, pigs, goats and sheep were among the animals judged — there was a gymkhana, artisan and food booths, and children’s activities like karaoke.
And then there were the traditional competitions for things like best flowers, vegetables, fruit and homemade wine, in addition to knitting, weaving, quilting and baking.
One change, Sweitzer said, was pushing the ranch rodeo — which took place Saturday — a bit.
“We have a new ring,” she said. “We can have two things running at once, so that makes it nice.”
Organizers haven’t even started thinking about next year yet, she said.
“That’ll be next week,” she said, laughing.