Higher Ground Fair

September 21 - 22, 2024

Join us in celebrating rural life in the Rocky Mountain West. The Higher Ground Fair is a place to delight in self-sufficiency and community collaboration, to spotlight small-to-medium scale farmers and ranchers; small business owners and entrepreneurs; artists of all forms, and creative lovers of everyday life. Whether you want to learn about the heritage of this beautiful area, or the innovative ways that people continue to live off of the land, come to the Higher Ground Fair. 

Hosted at the beautiful Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site, the Higher Ground Fair will bring the Rocky Mountain community together to share in, learn from and embrace the Rocky Mountain Entrepreneurial Spirit. Fun for the entire family!

Check back for the 2024 Higher Ground Fair Schedule.

 

Experiencing the Best of Regional Tradition and Innovation in One Extraordinary Weekend

The Higher Ground Fair seeks to be both a place and an experience that nurtures the intersection of art, music, crafts, agriculture, gardening, local foods, culture, grassroots social action, holistic health practices and sustainable living – with a focus on practices in the six Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, and the Native First Nations located within them.

  • Inspirational speakers, live music and entertainment, dance and wellness classes and local food vendors.
  • Composting, recycling and gardening workshops and demos at the Feeding Laramie Valley Farm.
  • Live animal demonstrations and livestock education: draft horses, llamas, goats, dogs and more.
  • Family gardening, farming and ranching at the center of the fair: displays, workshops, DIY cold frames and more.
  • Solar power for everyday needs: hands-on lessons and displays, personal or small business needs information.
  • Llama and Alpaca performance show, vendors and displays: all weekend long!
  • Kids' Adventure Zone and daily children's costume and llama parade.
  • Parade of Flags to bring color, flow, direction and beauty to the Higher Ground Fair.
Music and Dance 

Featuring multiple stages with concerts and performances on the hour every hour. Emerging musicians on the Diner Stage, bands on the Concert Stage, and interactive dance performances on the Leaping to a Higher Ground Stage. Explore and enjoy them all, all weekend long!

Presentations and Exhibits

Have fun while learning with speakers and presenters, a variety of demonstrations, competitions, tournaments, exhibits, displays and hands-on workshops. Join the adventure and be part of how the best of rural traditions can join today’s entrepreneurial spirit for a bright tomorrow everywhere.

Join us for a regional quilting show, showcasing quilters from across the Rocky Mountain Region! Bringing quilters together, educating fairgoers about the intricacies of quilting, and inspiring the next generation of quilters.​ 

Vendors and Artisan Marketplaces 

Enjoy traditional and folk arts, entrepreneurs, up-cyclers and local/regional food vendors and products located all around the Fair. The organizers and vendors at the Higher Ground Fair are committed to find, showcase and promote materials, products, labor, ingredients, and concepts that utilize compassionate practices, materials and ingredients developed to support the health of our planet, and as much as possible originate from the six Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and the Native First Nations that call this region home.

Animals and Livestock

Participate in or sit back and enjoy the llama, alpaca and fleece shows, draft horse shows and demonstrations and the livestock shows all weekend long. There will be wonderful, entertaining, and one-of-a-kind exhibits featuring the animals of the Rocky Mountains such as raptors, rescue horses, pack animals, goats, search and rescue dogs, and therapy dogs. 

Kid's Adventure Zone

Adventure across the ages of the Rock Mountain Region. You will be able to pan for gold in the West and rock climb in the forest before camping by the light of the fire. For those dinosaur lovers out there, come dig up the dinosaurs that roamed the Rocky Mountains in the Jurassic Period. There will be various games and opportunities to ride horses in the Ranger Photo Booth. Kids can also take part in the tie dye and rock mandala workshops to learn some new crafts. Last, but not least, you can't miss out on the Llama parade where you can dress up in costume and parade through the fair. 

Kid's activities, parades, crafts and hands-on workshops happen all weekend long at the Higher Ground Fair! The Kid's Adventure Zone is full of things to do and explore.

 

HGF Fiber Demo

 

History of the Higher Ground Fair

The Higher Ground Fair came to life within the Wyoming nonprofit organizations, Action Resources International and Feeding Laramie Valley, as a means of celebrating and promoting the values of rural Rocky Mountain living that draw from age-old tradition to create sustainable communities for the future. The first Higher Ground Fair was held in September, 2016 at the Albany County Fairgrounds.

Inspired by the Common Ground Fair held in Maine since the 1970s, the Higher Ground Fair is designed to welcome all people of all ages who are eager to enjoy the diverse delights of regionally-sourced playing, learning and enjoyment through demonstrations, competitions, presentations, displays, concerts, activities and vendors. 

 

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