Aspen Historical Society / Cassatt Collection
In the May 17, 1979 issue of The Aspen Times, the Pitkin County Fair Board announced the annual August event’s official move to the Snowmass Resort, specifically the Snowmass Rodeo Lot. Previous years had been held on various ranches within the county including the Punkoney Ranch in Snowmass Canyon, however, the Rodeo Lot provided space for the growing fair and could accommodate carnival rides, craft booths, rodeo events as well as a circus tent for indoor activities like the 4-H projects that ranged from woodworking, raising animals of all sizes, fashion shows and first aid displays as well as adult agricultural wares and home baked goods all vying for titles. Special events included a pancake breakfast, barbecue pit, fiddle contest, live music and dancing, and the “traditional calf-catch, horse gymkhana and horse show, the dog show, the parade of champion cattle.” This proved to be a semi-permanent move until 1987 when it shifted to the Tiehack side of Buttermilk Mountain.