While there weren’t rides, concessions or crowds at the event, the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo still took place over the weekend in Castle Rock with a focus on agriculture, livestock and rodeo.

Douglas and Elbert county kids from 4-H and Future Farmers of America presented their animals in the junior livestock sale Friday, July 31.

At the sale, excited buyers bid competitively on everything from cows and chickens to rabbits and pigs. The grand champion for market beef, a 1,200-pound steer, sold for $18,000. 

James Mullins, 12, who brought the steer to market, said he was shocked and excited when he found out he won first place.

“Every day I wash him twice a day, I brush him and then put him in the cooler,” he said about the process. 

Charli Surry, 9, also participated in the sale with her pig, named Jelly Belly Bean. This was her first year competing with a pig.

“I wanted to try it out because it sounded fun and just interesting,” she said. 

Her dad, Jeff Surry, said he got his kids into the program because it teaches them responsibility.

“If they do earn some money from selling one of their animals, (they learn) how they take that money and then apply it to buying something the next year... We also make them put it into savings for school,” he said. 

The audience for the sale was limited and buyers were asked to wear masks and socially distance during the event. Buyers were also allowed to participate online.

Instead of taking place in the fairgrounds pavilion, the event was held in the larger indoor arena to accommodate for COVID-19-related restrictions. 

Over the weekend, the county also hosted two Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association shows and an Xtreme Bulls show.