The fair will feature the Country Faire Community Showcase, open to participants from Sacramento, Placer, Yuba and Sutter counties. The showcase features art, crafts, woodworking, writing, kitchen arts, food preservation, textiles, agriculture and miscellaneous projects. Photo courtesy of the Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire

RIO LINDA, CA (MPG) - The 12th annual Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire will be at Depot Park, 6730 Front St. in downtown Rio Linda on Sept. 20 and 21, featuring more than 150 vendors, activities for youth and adults, and live music. 

The country faire is a free community event, hosted by the nonprofit Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire, in partnership with the Rio Linda Grange No. 403, the American Legion, Future Farmers of America and the Rio Linda Lion’s Club. The fair runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sunday, Sept. 21 with attractions such as the Kid’s Fun Zone open on Sept. 20 only, starting at 10 a.m.

Attractions for the Kid’s Zone include face painting and balloon twisters, bounce houses, games and a climbing wall. The fourth annual watermelon eating contest will take place at The Klip Joint on Sept. 20, across the street from Depot Park and next to the Rio Pub, featuring three separately competing age groups.

Attendees will have the opportunity to try their hand at the horseshoe tournament on Sept. 20, hosted by the Elkhorn Moose Lodge 2060, located to the right of the community center building next to the basketball courts. Signups take place between 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. before the tournament starts at 11 a.m. The tournament is free and partners will be blindly drawn through a double elimination process.  

There will be a Youth Livestock Competition between eight different showmanship classes on Sept. 21, granted that there are at least three entries in each class. Ten spots are available in each class and a single fee of $3 will be charged for nonresidents and $5 for the Canine Good Citizen Testing/Certification. 

Attractions for the Kid’s Zone include face painting and balloon twisters, bounce houses, games and a climbing wall. Photo courtesy of the Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire  

Participants will pay onsite on the day of testing and can reach out to Jean Davis of the Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire by email at [email protected] or by mail, addressed to Jean Davis at 8891 Rio Linda Blvd., Elverta, CA 95626, no later than Sept. 8 to be entered in the competition. Livestock competition forms can be found at the Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire website at riolindaelvertacountryfaire.com.

The fair will feature the Country Faire Community Showcase, open to participants from Sacramento, Placer, Yuba and Sutter counties. The showcase features art, crafts, woodworking, writing, kitchen arts, food preservation, textiles, agriculture and miscellaneous projects. According to the Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire website, the rules state that projects must be the work of the exhibitor and completed within the contest year. The deadline to register for the showcase is Sept. 8.

Community showcase entry forms can be mailed to the Rio Linda Grange at PO Box 472 in Rio Linda or emailed to [email protected]. Late forms and entries cannot be accepted and pre-registration is required to participate. Entries that don’t meet the qualifications will be eliminated and excluded from awards. The complete list of showcase rules can be found at the RLE Country Faire website.

In addition to the showcase, the faire expects to feature a talent show and black powder demonstration. The black powder demonstration will be hosted by Rouges of the Golden Coast, displaying various pistols, rifles and firing cannons as a finale. Times of demonstrations will be determined at a date closer to the fair and times will be posted throughout the event signage, information booth and A-Frame signs. 

Live music exhibits a Sunday celebration with Sacramento-raised artist Lisa Daggs, a Christian singer-songwriter now based in Tennessee, for a free show under the tent on Front Street at 4 p.m. Daggs is an American multi-award-winning artist with 35 No. 1s and was named Entertainer of the Year for the Inspirational Country Music Association. Donations will be accepted through the Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire and through Venmo at @rlefaire. 

The Country Faire Beer Garden, hosted by the Rio Pub, is expected to have their newest draft beers, $7 breakfast shots and Bloody Marys. The beer garden will also feature barbeque all day with tri-tip, a limited supply of turkey legs, hamburgers and hot dogs. Sides include French fries, potato salad and baked beans. The Rio Pub is located at 6750 Front St. in Rio Linda. 

For answers about any questions related to the Rio Linda Elverta Country Faire, email [email protected]. To volunteer at the fair, email [email protected]