While the books for the 2026 Humboldt County Fair are not yet closed, initial reports paint a bleak picture. Total paid attendance was down by about 1,000 tickets, and total admission revenue was down by approximately $14,310, a decrease of about 6 percent from 2025. CEO Moira Kenny, reporting to the Humboldt County Fair Association […]
rodeo
Posted inNews
Outlaw Rodeo at the Fair Marred by Two Horse Deaths
Without horse racing for its second year in a row, the 130th annual Humboldt County Fair replaced the thunder of hooves on the track with Saturday’s Outlaw Rodeo College Invitational. While it attracted a strong crowd as the largest single-day event, the injury and subsequent deaths of two horses cast a pall over the festivities […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
A Saturday at the Rodeo
Saturday, July 19, was a good day at the 104th annual Fortuna Rodeo to watch and photograph the talented athletes and their skilled animals compete in several events. And on this day, the bulls won — not a single rider lasted eight seconds. A 6-year-old cowboy won a belt buckle and a new hat, however, for best ride […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
NCJ Preview: Rodeo, a Teacher Pays it Forward and a Food Truck Heads North
We’re talking about local photographer Mark Larson’s rodeo pictures, hunger in Humboldt, a teacher’s quest to give back and the Pineapple Express food truck’s improbable and delicious journey. Hit subscribe for weekly updates on Humboldt stories.
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Rolling With the Punches: Fundraising Losses for Rural Firefighters
The Orick Volunteer Fire Department covers a lot of ground for just 11 volunteers — its service area stretches from Big Lagoon north to the Humboldt County line. Secretary-treasurer Judy Hagood makes the department’s shoestring budget work but this year the firefighters will be making do with a little less. “I don’t think we’re going […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Photos from the Hoopa Rodeo
As it does every year, the Hoopa Rodeo bucked, galloped and kicked up dirt Aug. 3-5. Native riders from California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington state and beyond came to compete. Both adults and young ones only a few hands high rode broncs (or mini broncs), zigged and zagged through the pole bending competition and sped through the […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Mexican Rodeo at the Fair was Wild, Folks (Photos)
The Brahma bulls at the Mexican Rodeo offered a new kind of thrill ride at the Redwood Acres Best of Humboldt Fair on Sunday — but only young cowboys from the rodeo company were allowed to ride the bulls. A good-sized crowd including a lot of families got a close-up view of the action from […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Making Time: More Moments from the Hoopa Rodeo
We hope you enjoyed this week’s cover story “Holding On: A Day at the Hoopa Rodeo.” Below you’ll find a chunk of missing time from our hour-by-hour account of Saturday, Aug. 5, an interview that was cut for length from the cover, and a slideshow of photos taken during the day. 12:30 p.m. Jerry Parrish, […]
Posted inNews (NCJ)
Ferndale Cowboy in National Rodeo Finals Tonight
Bill Bugenig, a Ferndale High School graduate and career rodeo cowboy, will compete in professional rodeo’s “Superbowl” tonight, as he rides into the arena at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Bugenig is a professional “bulldogger,” or steer wrestler, and tonight he will be riding a […]
Posted inArts + Scene
To the Buzzer
The 94th annual Fortuna Rodeo rode into the sunset on Sunday, July 19. Horses, firetrucks, bands and floats made their way down Main Street for the parade, and kids of all ages chanced the games and clanging rides at the carnival, while riders and ropers took on bulls and broncos in the rodeo arena in […]