Gates stayed open until 11 p.m. Sunday for the last stretch of the 2026 Boulder County Fair, as fairgoers packed the Longmont fairgrounds for one final round of rides, food, exhibits, and entertainment before the lights went down on the five-day run.
The Boulder County Sheriff's Office marked the occasion with a video reminder that there was still time to enjoy the fair, with staff walking the fairgrounds and talking with fairgoers throughout the day, according to the Boulder County Sheriff's Office. The 2026 fair ran for five days, from Wednesday, August 5 through Sunday, August 9, with extended fairground hours from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, according to The Longmont Leader.
Free Gates, Ticketed Grandstand
Gate admission and parking at the fair are free for the public, though separate tickets are required for grandstand events such as the CPRA Rodeo, Tractor Pull, Demolition Derby, and Mexican Rodeo Fiesta, per Boulder County. That accessible pricing model is part of what has helped the fair regularly draw between 100,000 and 150,000 visitors over its multi-day run, making it one of the largest public community gatherings in Northern Colorado, according to Colorado State University Extension.
The fair is run as an independent nonprofit organization that rents the fairgrounds from Boulder County, making it one of only four nonprofit-run county fairs in the state, the station's report notes. Opening night this year featured a carnival kickoff party, live music from Blessing “Bled” Chimanga and Chris Karns, mounted shooting demonstrations, and a hot-air balloon glow alongside 4-H livestock competitions, the same account states.
Colorado's Oldest Fair Traces Roots to 1869
The fair traces its origins to October 12, 1869, in the Colorado Territory, making it the oldest county fair in Colorado and marking its 157th year in 2026, according to the Boulder County Fair. It was originally established in the city of Boulder, but moved to Longmont in 1899 after Longmont women began hosting “Pumpkin Pie Days” starting in 1885, serving free homemade pumpkin pies to lure agricultural exhibits away from Boulder's gambling and horse-racing focus.
The current 130-acre fairgrounds site at Nelson Road and Hover Road was acquired in 1976, when Boulder County purchased the former Affolter Corner Farm, with the new fair facilities officially opening in August 1978. That land deal traces back to 1975, when 750 local 4-H members wrote hand-penciled letters to County Commissioner Jack Murphy urging the county to build a new fairgrounds, a push that led directly to the Longmont site and the naming of the Jack Murphy Outdoor Arena in his honor.
Across its long history, the fair has been canceled only once, in 1946, due to a region-wide health concern over a polio outbreak. That single interruption in 157 years underscores just how consistently the fair has returned to Longmont each August, rides, food, and exhibits included, even as the rest of its surroundings have changed dramatically since the days of Affolter Corner Farm.
