Chancey Williams, this year’s Rocky Mountain Country Music Entertainer of the, comes to the Fallon Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair on Aug. 27. Jared Hovis is the opening act. Tickets are available on https://www.falloncantaloupefestival.com/tickets.
The days are ticking away for the first day of the annual Fallon Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair.
The 2022 festival and fair kick off on Aug. 26 at the Churchill County Fairgrounds with the major musical acts performing at the Rafter 3C Arena.
“I thought we’d be moving into the Rafter,” said festival committee member Zip Upham when he talked before the Fallon Rotary Club. Upham has been a member of the festival committee for years, and Adrienne Snow is this year’s executive director.
“She’s been working full-time for the last eight months to put the festival on,” Upham said.
Upham said the grassy area bordered by the Barrel House (multi-purpose building) to the north will still be used for vendors’ booths and exhibits. He said the area for the food courts and vendors remains a good spot for them to set up.
“We’ll have more vendors than we have had in the past,” he said, adding the carnival has moved to the south side of the main grandstand. A farmers market will greet visitors when they enter the festival.
“The Rafter has its own setup,” Upham said.
Candlebox, a band which plays music from the 1990s, launches the festival with their Friday night concert.
Chancey Williams and Jared Hovis perform Saturday night.
At the Rocky Mountain Country Music Awards, Williams was named 2022’s Entertainer of the Year for the second time. He also snared multiple other awards and nominations. Williams was named Songwriter of the Year for ‘The Saint’ – which is described as an old school anthem for vengeance in the Old West.
Williams was raised on a ranch on northeastern Wyoming near Moorcroft and was active in rodeo as a saddle bronc rider at both the high school and collegiate levels. He also competed at the National High School Rodeo Finals and the College National Finals, and closer to home, he won two rounds at the Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Williams and the Younger Brothers Band will perform songs off Williams’ album, “3rd Street,” which debuted in 2020. Songs include the Rocky Mountain CMA Song of the Year, “Wyoming Wind.”
Hovis grew up in Burney, a rural town in Northern California. Country music has been part of Hovis’ life since an early age, and he credits his grandfather with introducing him to the music. Off the stage, Hovis loves to hunt and fish.
Hovis relocated to Nashville and released two singles. In his song “Comin’ Over Sober,” audiences will hear his raw emotion as a songwriter. “Bad Ole Days” shows his love for the 1990s.
Before the festival opens to the general public on Aug. 28, Upham said the area’s fifth-graders will take a field trip to the fairgrounds to see all the agricultural exhibits and then be entertained at lunch by a juggler.
“Friday afternoon we’ll open to the public and have a lot going on at the festival,” he said.
On Saturday morning, the Save the Fallon Theatre Cantaloupe Festival 5K fun run and walk begins at 8 a.m. with registration at 7 a.m. at the Churchill County Indoor Pool. Dogs allowed at $3 each and they must be on a leash
Early registration is $25 for a T-shirt. Registration forms may be picked up at Kent’s Supply, Fallon Theatre or online www.fallontheatre.com.
Late registration is $30.
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A visitor at a previous Fallon Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair looks at the photographs in the Barrel House, the new name given to the multi-purpose building.
Upham said the Cutest Cowboy and Cowgirl contest will be held Saturday morning at the Rafter. Elsewhere on the festival grounds (Lonetree Festival Field with its Hay Palace Stage and white Greasewood Pavilion) will be Banner Churchill Hospital Auxiliary’s cornhole tournament. He added there will also be a horseshoe tournament, car show and skate competition. In the outdoor arena will be mounted cowboy shooting.
Sam Malcolm, a professional juggler and comedian who grew up and Fallon and now lives in Denver, returns to the festival. Upham said Malcolm has been one of the top crowd pleasers during the past five years.
Upham encourages visitors to buy their festival tickets online at https://www.falloncantaloupefestival.com/tickets..
Buying a ticket online, Upham said, will allow festival visitors to skip the long lines. He said the concert tickets, however, are separate for Friday and Saturday nights and do not include a full-day attendance at the festival.
Upham said the fixed schedule for the three days is also found on the same website.
Upham said the main sponsors are the City of Fallon, Visit Fallon, CC Communications, Northern Nevada Toyota Dealers and Banner Health.
