The Inland Empire 66ers are closing out their home season with a country hoedown, and the price of admission might just be a children's book. On August 30, San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino will host Dolly's Country Fair, a tribute event honoring the late country music icon and philanthropist, featuring a Dolly Parton tribute band, fair-style games, and a mechanical bull.
The celebration coincides with the 66ers' final regular-season home game of 2026, a matchup against the Fresno Grizzlies, according to the San Bernardino Sun. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. on August 30, with the event kicking off at 5:35 p.m. Fans who dress country-western for the occasion, and children 12 and under, will receive free admission to the ballpark, per the same report.
Books In, Cheap Seats Out
The fair doubles as a literacy drive. Fans who donate a children's book at the gate also get free admission, and those books will go to CASA of San Bernardino County, a nonprofit benefiting youth in foster care. Adults who don't want to donate a book can still get in for as little as $1.50, the station's report notes.
The team's general manager, Hollee Haines, said the event will celebrate Dolly Parton's generosity and kindness and build on her childhood-literacy legacy. Haines added that more children's books and rhinestones would only improve the event, per the same account.
That literacy tie-in connects directly to Parton's own legacy. Her Imagination Library program has served more than 160,000 children and distributed nearly 3 million free books in California through state-supported early literacy partnerships with the Dollywood Foundation, according to CalMatters. California lawmakers allocated $70 million in 2022 to boost children's reading programs statewide.
CASA of San Bernardino County itself has been expanding. The nonprofit, founded in 1984 by Juvenile Dependency Court Judge Patrick Morris to train volunteer advocates for children, works with youth in foster care and juvenile justice care. In June, the organization held an open house and ribbon-cutting at its office in The Enterprise Building, as reported by Inland Empire Community News.
Wild Burros Get a Cut Too
Books aren't the only cause getting a boost. Fans can also donate to DonkeyLand Rescue during the game via QR codes displayed on the video board, and the 66ers themselves will donate to the organization, which helps protect wild burros across the Inland Empire.
DonkeyLand Rescue operates a sanctuary protecting Southern California's wild burro population, estimated at roughly 2,000 free-roaming animals descended from a small herd released in the area during the 1950s, according to DonkeyLand Rescue. Vehicle collisions along local roadways remain a major threat to the animals. In April 2025, San Bernardino County executed two contracts with the group to handle wild burro rescue, relocation, and support services in the Reche Canyon and San Timoteo Canyon corridors, following a prior arrangement with Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, per the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. Hoodline previously reported on the dangers facing the herds in a story about the search for two dogs tied to a donkey killing in Reche Canyon.
A Mariners Reunion at a Storied Ballpark
The game itself carries some franchise history. The Inland Empire 66ers are the San Bernardino professional baseball club's California League affiliate, and the team reunited with the Seattle Mariners as its Single-A California League affiliate beginning this season, according to MLB.com. The Mariners previously served as the franchise's affiliate from 1987 to 1994 and again from 2001 to 2006.
The franchise has changed names over time. First established as the San Bernardino Spirit in 1987 and later known as the Stampede, the team adopted the Inland Empire 66ers name in 2003.
San Manuel Stadium, where Sunday's fair will unfold, will host the game.
Sunday's matchup against Fresno is part of the event. Tickets for Dolly's Country Fair can be purchased at gofevo.com or by calling 909-888-9922.
