This weekend Cochranites can enjoy an action-packed weekend at the Cochrane Fair being hosted at the Cochrane AG Society Park.

For six years the Cochrane and District Agricultural Society (CDAS) has been working hard at bringing an event to the Cochrane area which highlights both rural and urban activities combining education with a whole lot of fun.

Isabel Gimber, Secretary for the AG Society shares thanks to the sponsorship of the Shell Jumping Pound Gas Complex farm safety will be highlighted all day Saturday (August 18). "There will be lots of really good information and not only for people living in the country because we all go out to visit people, see people living on an acreage or go out to Waiparous and do backcountry stuff. We're really excited because our mandate as an Ag Society is to bridge rural and urban and create a stronger community as a result. So we want the fun things like the beer gardens and midway but we also want learning experiences."

With gates to the fair opening Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., fairgoers will be able to enjoy the midway and pre-entertainment such as sheepdog demos and mini chuck wagon heats before taking in the action at the Foothills Bucking Horse Futurity; featuring saddle bronc riders riding young, up and coming bucking stock. "The Bucking Horse Futurity is part of the circuit for the NFR held down in Vegas in fall."

Adding new additions and changing up entertainment keeps the event fresh year after year and partnerships with the Old Tyme Bearspaw Bench Exhibition Show, Cochrane Classic Bull Riding and the Bucking Horse Futurity add to the number of attendees and also takes some pressure off the organizing committee. "We aren't the experts in all these. We are trying to follow the model of the Calgary Stampede that brings in a bunch of organizations; the only difference is we're smaller and hands on. We are becoming a real go-to event."

The Cochrane Fair kicks off Friday (August 17) at 4 pm and runs all the way through to Sunday (August 19). Over 14,000 people passed through the gate last year and if Mother Nature is kind, the society feels they will easily surpass 16,000 people.

Some of the other entertainment you will find on the grounds this year is a big top tent featuring the Indigo Circus Performers, a chance to ride ATVs thanks to Mountain Toy Sports, a marketplace full of vendors, a reptile show, mutton bustin', Extreme Cowboy Races, Friday and Saturday evening dances with music by the Bow River Band, tons of animals, live music, food trucks and an anything goes pet show thanks to Pet Valu.

The first 100 people through the gate Saturday will receive a $5 food voucher from one of the vendors on site.

Advance tickets can be purchased HERE, Tony's Western Wear or Dry Cleaning by Dave and will save you cash in your wallet. If advance tickets are not your thing, you can pay at the gate for an additional cost and participation in the different events carry a different price.

More information on the three-day event can be found HERE. Watch over the next few days as stories about the 7th annual Foothills Bucking Horse Futurity, 18th annual Cochrane Classic Bull Riding, and 50th annual Old Tyme Bearspaw Bench Exhibition Show will be posted.

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VIDEO: Cochrane Fair Entertained Thousands