Whiskey Dawn at the Amador County Fair Thursday, July 29

It's not to late to get discount tickets to see this great show. Whiskey Dawn is one of California’s hottest country bands. With the release of their first original album, Dear Nashville, Whiskey Dawn’s popularity has sky-rocketed to unimagined heights. Regularly featured on 101.9 the Wolf in Sacramento, Whiskey Dawn’s music has been heard on multiple country stations up and down the State of California. They’ve performed with several Nashville acts including Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Bucky Covington, Lady Antebellum, and more. Quickly becoming the favorite band at each new venue, Whiskey Dawn performed over 100 high-octane shows in 2009, captivating audiences with precision harmonies and dynamic instrumentation.

Though Whiskey Dawn is in just their third year of performing, the foundation for their success started over a decade ago. Troy, Jeremy, and Mike began singing and playing music together in high school. It only took them 10 years to realize how special it was to have three uniquely talented friends – and all with a passion for music. But, it wasn’t until joining forces with journeymen musicians Steve Mendiola, Dave Corina, and Steve Cortez that Whiskey Dawn was formed. As the backbone of Whiskey Dawn, Dave and “Los Dos Stevos,” combine to add immeasurable experience and talent to the lineup.

Catch them on Picnic Hill Stage on Thursday evening.

Mutton Bustin' and Calf Scramble at the Nevada County Fair

WANT TO PARTICIPATE? READ ON TO FIND OUT HOW!

Two new arena events – Mutton Bustin’ and Calf Scramble – are planned for young children and teens in the Arena on Wednesday and Thursday night of the Nevada County Fair, August 11 - 15.

Featured in the Arena during the Professional Bull riding on Wednesday and the Rodeo on Thursday will be Mutton Bustin’, where eight young cowboys and cowgirls between the ages of 5 and 7 years old will get the chance each evening to mount a trusty sheep and head for the thrill of their young lives. Participants must be between the ages of 5 – 7, and must not weigh more than 65 pounds.

Also featured at the Arena on the same two nights will be the Calf Scramble, where ten teams, each consisting of a boy and girl, will compete with one another to catch, halter and coax a calf across the finish line. Participants must be between the ages of 12 – 18, and must weigh at least 100 pounds.

Western attire is required for both events, and there is no entry fee. Sheep and calves provided to the contestants during each event. Great prizes will be awarded for both events. For the Mutton Bustin’, prizes are $50 for first prize, $25 for second prize, and $10 for third prize. For the Calf Scramble, prizes are $100 for first prize, $50 for second prize, and $25 for third prize. There are a limited number of spots available, so call the Fair Office at (530) 273-6217 to reserve a spot in either event, as well as obtain an application and a list of rules. Applications and rules are also posted under Special Contests at www.NevadaCountyFair.com. These two events are kindly sponsored by PremierWest Bank.

This year’s Fair is August 11 – 15. Each evening of the Fair features a thrilling arena event. Wednesday is Professional Bull Riding; Thursday is the Rodeo; Friday is Tuff Truck Racing and Monster Trucks; Saturday is Free Style Moto X Riders and Monster Trucks; and Sunday is the Demolition Derby. Purchase your arena event tickets before August 10 and get admission to the Fair for only $5. Visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com for more information.

Amador County Fair Wine Tasting Friday, July 30

Presented by the Amador County Wine Grape Growers Association from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm the event features more than 40 wineries showcasing award-winning wines from the 2010 competition. Appetizers from Beth Sogaard Catering, locally-made sausages from Swingle Meat Company, and gourmet platters of aged cheeses and fresh fruits and vegetables. Your $25 admission includes a commemorative glass. Tickets are available online at www.amadorcountyfair.com, at the Fair Office 1-209-245-6921, or at the event entrance. Designated drivers $12.50. Gates open at 6:30 pm, must be 21 years or older, please no strollers.

The Amador County Fair Wine Competition last Saturday, June 5, offered more than 450 wines for judging in the highly regarded annual Amador County Commercial Wine Competition. Entries were restricted to wines that can be identified as originating in the Sierra Foothill AVA (American Viticultural Area).

The Sierra Foothill AVA runs for 170 miles along the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This designation can be claimed by wines derived from grapes grown from any of following California Counties: Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Tuolumne, and Yuba.

With only 6,163 acres in vineyard production, The Sierra Foothill AVA crushes less than 1% of the State’s total wine grape production. However, the topography and generally infertile shallow mountainside soils combine with a Mediterranean climate to create moderate stress on the grapevines producing low to moderate yields of very high quality grapes.That quality was on display in the 2010 Amador County Commercial Wine Competition.

Seven panels of some of the State’s most experienced judges spent nearly seven hours, swirling, sipping and spitting 464 wines from 72 different wineries. Their time was spent in a concerted effort to determine the “Best of Class” in 34 separate varietal categories plus an additional nine awards that terminated in awarding the Best Red, Best White, Best Blush, Best other Wine and finally the overall Best of Show. As the wines in this competition so aptly demonstrate, the Sierra Foothills is a unique AVA with numerous wineries having a well deserved reputation for delivering well crafted high quality wines that typically are recognized at the California State Fair competition.

What has been a closely guarded secret among some wine lovers is rapidly being discovered by the rest of the State…..head to the hills for some of the best wines in California.

Click here for a listing of the results from the Amador County Fair Wine Competition.

Wrecks Waiting to Happen at the Amador County Fair

The Amador County Fair Destruction Derby is about “Destroy or be Destroyed” and the crash ’em / smash ’em event slated for the Grandstands arena on Sunday, August 1, at 7:00 pm, will be no different. Drivers do their best, while driving in reverse, in a bed of mud, to smash the other cars to smithereens. The audience cheers as mud flies, wheels spin in the gooey mess, and one car after another is annihilated or the overworked and overheated engines give up in a smoky haze.

Between heats, teams madly pull out major dents that might keep a wheel from turning, weld broken parts, and tinker with barely running engines in order to make it back out to the next heat. The last car running in each heat goes on to the final championship event.

Put on by the Jackson Rotary Club, the Destruction Derby is a major fund-raiser for the club who supports community services such as the Interfaith Food Bank. If you plan to attend the Amador County Fair Destruction Derby, get your tickets in advance as the lines form early for this sell-out event. Tickets are Reserved $15 all ages, General Admission $10, Children 6 and under $5, in addition to the Fair’s general gate admission.

Professional Rodeo bucks into the Amador County Fair July 31

Jack Mitchell, publisher of the Ledger-Dispatch bravely climbed aboard one of the 4 Star Rodeo’s massive bulls at the 2009 Amador County Fair. Cowboys must ride eight seconds for a qualified ride during a rodeo. Jack claims he hung on for 0.08 seconds. He says he’d rather be hung by his feet from a burning rope. The Fair means to take him up on that this year, and let the pros handle the bulls.

Bull riding is the most notorious of professional rodeo events and Four Star Rodeo Company is known among bull riders to have top of the line stock, including 2007 NFR (National Finals Rodeo) Champion Bull, Shakedown. But why would anyone climb on the back of a bucking bull for a small chance at a little bit of prize money and a silver buckle? Most would consider it a foolhardy act. The risks are obvious. Serious injury is always a possibility for those fearless or foolish enough to sit astride an animal that weighs nearly a ton and is usually equipped with dangerous horns. But cowboys do it, fans love it, and bull riding may rank as rodeo’s most popular sport.

Professional rodeo features skills developed by cowboys on the ranches and trail rides at the turn of the century, including roping, riding bucking animals, and racing the fastest short-distance horses in the world. The risk-takers are willing to climb on the back of a wild, bucking bronc or a notorious bull for a share of the purse or a silver buckle and the ride of a lifetime. It can take just eight seconds — if you can last that long!.

Timed events, such as calf or team roping and steer wrestling, are skills that require training and experience by both horses and riders. A good roping or hazing horse can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars and are the only animal athletes that are shared among the cowboys for a percentage of the earnings.

Professional Rodeo bucks into the Bennie Brown arena on Saturday, July 31, at 8:00 pm. Tickets for the rodeo are: Reserved $15 All Ages, General Admission $10, Children 6 and under $5.

Dave Stamey to Headline Amador County Fair Cowboy Poetry & Music Roundup July 29

Amador County Fair will host the first annual Cowboy Poetry and Music Roundup featuring poets Dave Stamey, Jerry Bell, Jim King, and Ron Scofield. Tickets for the show are $10 for adults and $5 for ages six and under and do not include admission to the Fair..

Old Cowboys and Indians Magazine has called Dave Stamey “the Charley Russell of Western Music.” Dave Stamey has been a cowboy, a mule packer, a dude wrangler, and is now one of the most popular Western entertainers working today. Dave can tell you some tales. He has been bucked off and stomped by many horses. He has been stepped on by mules and dragged around branding pens by cattle of many sizes. He’s ridden in the rain, in the snow, in the rain some more, in pretty nasty heat, and in feedlot pens where the air was thick and decidedly fragrant. He’s even wrangled dudes.

He has been twice voted Entertainer of the Year, three times Male Performer of the Year and twice Songwriter of the Year by the Western Music Association, and received the Will Rogers Award from the Academy of Western Artists.

Visit the Amador County Fair July 29 through August 1, 2010 for a Roaring Good Time!