DESTINY GAZETTE
Serving Destiny County Since 1956
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
COUNTY FAIR CLOSES ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR
Three days of food, music, competition and community fill Courthouse Park
By Mary Whitaker, Gazette Author
DESTINY — By Monday morning, Courthouse Park was quiet again.
The carnival rides were gone, the barricades had been picked up, and Main Street was open from one end to the other. County employees were back at the courthouse, merchants were sweeping their boardwalks and, except for several patches of thoroughly defeated grass, downtown looked almost respectable again.
For three days, however, there was nothing quiet about Destiny.
The annual Destiny County Fair returned August 7, 8 and 9, bringing residents and visitors downtown for a weekend of food, music, carnival rides, local vendors and the sort of friendly competition that occasionally requires reminding otherwise respectable adults that a blue ribbon is not legally considered a matter of life and death.
Friday’s Makers Market opened the weekend at 8 a.m., with local crafts, produce and homemade goods filling Courthouse Park. There were jams, baked goods, vegetables, woodworking, handmade jewelry and enough conversation between the booths that several people appeared to forget they were supposed to be selling anything.
Hank’s Hardware and The C-Store provided Friday’s free community barbecue beginning at noon. Steve and Sue “Suzie” Krawiecki were among those working the Hank’s Hardware end of things, with Steve spending most of the lunch hour near the grill and Sue apparently doing everything else.
Volunteers served burgers and the usual assortment of sides until the crowd finally began to thin. Steve was asked afterward how many people had been served. “A lot,” was his official estimate, though he said somebody had stopped counting at 801.
Having watched Steve attempt to count plates while simultaneously working a grill and answering three questions at once, this reporter considers that figure sufficiently accurate for publication.
Suzie declined to provide a competing estimate.
She did, however, give Steve a look.
Children’s activities and softball games occupied much of Friday afternoon before the food trucks opened along Main Street. Live music and dancing followed at 8, keeping downtown busy well into the night.
Several people who had announced beforehand that they were “only staying for a little while” were still present considerably later. Names have been withheld as a public service.
Saturday began with the Farmers Market and another full day of carnival rides, but the day’s most serious business commenced at 11 a.m. with the annual Destiny County Chili Cook-Off. As happens every year, contestants arrived claiming they were participating simply for fun and fellowship. – Nobody believed them.
Recipes were guarded, ingredients were questioned, judges were lobbied and at least one discussion concerning the proper use of beans became unnecessarily constitutional in nature.
The judging appears to have been honest, with last year’s champion, South Side Foggy Mountain Chili out of Texas, taking the blue ribbon again.
There were complaints. There are always complaints. None were filed in writing.
Saturday evening brought the crowd back to Main Street for another round of live music and dancing. Businesses remained busy throughout downtown, and several owners reported one of their strongest weekends of the summer. The Silver Dollar Saloon Beer Garden was particularly busy after the music started, although anyone surprised by that has apparently never attended the Destiny County Fair.
Sunday began considerably earlier than some Saturday-night participants would have preferred. The community breakfast opened at 8 a.m., and “Kay’s Coffee” truck had a steady line.
Church in the Park and the Gospel concert followed, drawing another good crowd to the courthouse lawn. Local favorites the Grady Boys ended the show with a rousing rendition of Don Francisco’s “He’s Alive”.
Sandy Vinson of Allenspark took the blue ribbon in the pie contest. Her winning pie disappeared quickly enough afterward that this reporter was unable to conduct the sort of independent verification ordinarily expected of responsible journalism. I tried.
Children’s activities continued through the afternoon, and the fair officially closed at 5 p.m.
Sheriff John Wyatt Deloit described the weekend as successful and generally peaceful. The Destiny County Sheriff’s Office handled the usual assortment of traffic complaints and citizens temporarily separated from better judgment.
Two arrests for DUI appeared on the county jail roster. No serious injuries were reported.
The Sheriff’s Office also reunited several children with their parents, several sets of keys with their owners and, according to the deputy, a gentleman with a boot he had somehow misplaced Saturday evening. No further explanation was offered. I decided not to ask.
Fair organizers thanked the volunteers, county employees, local churches, businesses, vendors, musicians and residents who contributed time, equipment, food and money throughout the weekend.
Special thanks also went to this year’s local sponsors: First Bank of Destiny, The C-Store, Hank’s Hardware, Alpine Italian Ristorante, the Silver Dollar Saloon, Eastridge Motel & B&B and Destiny Pawn.
By Sunday evening, carnival crews were already dismantling rides. Trucks began leaving Destiny before sunset, carrying the midway toward its next stop. It is always strange how quickly it disappears. For three days, Courthouse Park has lights, music, children running everywhere, somebody calling your name from across Main Street and at least six things being fried that probably should not be. Then the trucks just leave.
Monday morning brought the courthouse employees back to work.
From my window, Courthouse Park looks almost normal again.
Almost.
There is still a suspicious patch of flattened grass where the Ferris wheel stood. Somebody left a folding chair beside the courthouse steps. A child’s blue ribbon was found near the north walk and has been turned in at the Gazette office.
And I have been reliably informed that one pie remains unaccounted for. Sheriff Deloit is reportedly not opening an investigation.
Thank you to everyone who worked, cooked, donated, competed, performed, cleaned up, kept children entertained, directed traffic, picked up trash and otherwise helped make another Destiny County Fair happen.
And thank you, Destiny County, for giving this newspaper another year’s worth of things we technically don’t call gossip.
We’ll see you next year.
Mary Whitaker
The Destiny Gazette
Production note: The Destiny Gazette has served Destiny County since 1956 and is published every other Tuesday. Completed copy is sent to Boulder for printing before the finished papers are returned to Destiny County for distribution.