During the 2004 Southeast Spokane County Fair, cousins Shelby and Kailyn Gady, then 10 and 9 respectively, of Rockford snuggled with their blue ribbon winner Simmental cow, Butterfinger. SR file photo.

The 68th annual Southeast Spokane County Fair got up and running in Rockford today. The classic fair includes plenty of animals, live entertainment and fun events. The best part: admission is free. The carnival opens at 3 p.m. today, but most of the events are on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday starts with a pancake breakfast at the fire station from 7 to 10 a.m. The cost is $6 for adults, $3 for kids ages 6-12 and kids 5 and under are free. The exhibit building opens at 9 a.m., but the highlights of the day might be the parades down Emma Road (also known at Highway 278). The children's parade starts at 10:15 a.m. and the grand parade starts at 10:30 a.m. This, of course, means that Highway 278 will be shut down from 10 a.m. to noon. This might be a problem for people driving to or from Worley. A detour will be available via Elder Road.

The weekend also includes a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and bingo. There will be a horse show on Sunday in addition to the other fair activities. Also be sure to check out the Cow Chip Bingo starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday. There will be cash prizes based on where three volunteers cows plop their, uh, cow chips.

A complete schedule is available at www.sespokanecountyfair.org. To reach Rockford, head south on Highway 27 from Spokane Valley. 

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