Leanna Lehman
This year’s Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair is just around the corner. With organizers gearing up for 2024 as soon as last year’s event concluded, this year promises many new and exciting additions to Fallon’s favorite festival.
Vendors
One notable addition to the festival was the new automated vendor registration program. According to festival executive director Adrienne Snow, this technology has made things much easier for everyone involved. Gone are handwritten notes, Excel spreadsheets, and the innumerable hours spent coordinating vendor registration, fees, booth placement, etc. Now, vendors do everything electronically themselves.
The festival hosts over 120 vendors, and that number is continuously increasing. With a wide variety of offerings like fresh produce in the Farmers’ Market, concessions, handmade crafts, jewelry, merchandise, services, and more, this is excellent news for the 20,000 or so expected attendees. This digitized registration allows vendors more time to focus on their booths and event organizers to focus on other festival needs.
New Events and Attractions
Also new to this year’s Cantaloupe Festival is the Junior Roughstock Challenge. Presented by Battle Born Broncs, this new junior rodeo event is a direct qualifier for the YETI Junior World Finals held in Las Vegas in December. In the world of junior rodeo, these qualifying events are similar to traveling sports clubs and are separate from official junior and high school sports events. They will draw riders from around the western states’ region, giving our local economy an additional boost. And great news - admission is free with a festival ticket.
Another exciting element will be the new and improved Ag Experience. With Joe Frey taking the reins on this completely redesigned feature, visitors will be treated to a more immersive experience. Additionally, several local ag-related organizations like FFA, 4-H, High Desert Grange, and Churchill County Farm Bureau will be part of the exhibit. “People will love it,” says Snow, looking forward to the fun awaiting this year’s festival goers who venture into the Ag Experience.
Music
And, of course, great music is on tap this year, with three concerts lined up for Friday night. First to hit the stage will be an award-winning songwriter and performer, Reno’s Eric Henry Anderson, who Snow says is “phenomenal.” Nine Days (also Ninedays), a rock band from Long Island that made the charts in the 1990s and is famously known for “Absolutely (Story of a Girl),” will follow. Wrapping the music for Friday night will be Dishwalla, an alternative rock group from Santa Barbara. Most known for “Counting Blue Cars” (Tell me all your thoughts on God…because I’d really like to meet her), Dishwalla more recently released their fifth studio album, “Juniper Road,” and have toured with long-standing alternative greats like Fuel, Marcy Playground, Gin Blossoms, and Tears for Fears.
On the country front, Cantaloupers can look forward to Patrice, known as a versatile county music singer and songwriter. Hailing from Sparks, Patrice has been featured on the Cowboy Channel for her song “Headlights” and has performed with Americana/Red Dirt favorite Reckless Kelly. The audience loved Patrice’s performance last year so much that the festival committee is bringing her back for what is sure to be another fantastic concert. The main performance for Country Night has yet to be announced after a “snafu” with the initial headliner, according to Snow. Fear not; Snow promises information will be released as soon as it becomes available.
Regrettably, the roster is full for anyone still waiting to sign their child up for the Cutest Little Cowboy and Cowgirl Contest.
With so many amazing things on tap, the 2024 Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair might be the best yet.
Stay posted for a feature story on this new youth roughstock rodeo festival event, more on the exhibits, concert showcase stories, and more.
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