Park County Events Coordinator Billy Wood rode rough stock in the rodeo growing up. He said he loved the feeling of the home crowd cheering him on. 

He sees pig mud wrestling as a similar opportunity for the mass of young people set to compete once again in the Park County Fair’s opening grandstand event Tuesday night. 

“Pig wrestling is for the kids,” he said. “You know, we have teams, and out of those, 30 of them are 16 and under, so it’s trying to give the kids something to do and to be a part of something. In this case, that gives them an opportunity.”

Granted, he said, most of the kids are focused on just getting muddy and having fun, but it’s a good experience for family and friends to cheer them on. 

And there’s been plenty of people ready to pack the grandstands on the opening night of the fair, even with the introduction of a $6 charge for attending what had formerly been a free event. 

He said last year was the first year the event turned a profit. 

And it’s not an event just for the kids. Ten of the teams are filled with adults, including one filled with ladies from the Powell Senior Center. 

“The women’s division filled up real quick,” Wood said. 

The participants will be wrestling pigs from the same contractor as last year, Bill Lee of Wheatland, who saved the fair’s bacon last year by agreeing to provide pigs after the fair had gone a year without pig mud wrestling due to the previous contractor backing out. 

Wood is glad to have the event back and once again established. 

“It’s just a little something to try and get the community a little more involved,” he said. “Of course, just like everything, there’s a small fee to it, but it’s a lot cheaper to do that for four kids vs. four kids at the carnival.”

He said he’d prefer families do both, and also stop by some of the many vendors for lunch or dinner, during the only fully free day of the fair. 

Gates open at 6 p.m. and the wrestling starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at tickets.parkcountyeventsandfair.com/p/tickets