The Stanislaus County Fair ended its 10-day run in Turlock with good memories for local FFA and 4-H members who showed and sold the animals they’ve been caring for over the past months.
The fair escaped the triple-digit heat that has been known to put a damper on attendance in past summers, reaching only the low to mid-90s.
A total of 23 Ceres High School FFA members are showing swine, sheep, goats and beef at the Fair, said ag teacher Mardel Runnels.
Central Valley High School’s Ariana Alvarez earned seventh place in FFA Novice Goat Showmanship.
Central Valley High School FFA members performed well with their market goats. Ariana Alvarez placed third, Cassie Guzman placed third and Camila Albor placed fifth.
CV’s Nathan Navarro won third place in Novice Showmanship.
Saturday night on July 11 at the Stanislaus County Fair certainly didn’t feel like it was Ash Ruder’s first-ever headlining performance. And it certainly didn’t seem like there were any added nerves considering the fact that it came in her hometown of Turlock in front of family and friends.
As one of her videographers described it following her hour-and-a-half set on the Modelo Variety Free Stage, “it was magic.”
Ruder only has a handful of music out, but she still drew a larger crowd than opening night performer and CMT star Drake Milligan. And the songs themselves, as well as her impressive vocal range, kept the crowd hooked — and growing — as the night went on.
“It’s just so surreal,” Ruder said. “It’s amazing to see so many people come out. Like everybody is here, my family, friends… ex-boyfriends’ moms. It’s crazy.”
Her set of almost entirely unreleased music had heads bobbing, and eventually tears falling, particularly from her parents, Bryan and Julie Christenson, who sat front and center.
“We’re very excited,” Bryan said ahead of the show. “We love to have our daughter come back to Turlock and get to do this for all the Turlock people. It’s fun to be able to share this experience with everybody.”
“We love to have her back,” added Julie. “We booked the tickets right away for her to come home, so we’ve been waiting for this.”
Ruder opened the show with her top single, “The Valley,” before tapping into her unreleased tracks, many which were more odes to Turlock and the Central Valley. Those included “Country Side,” which she wrote for her husband, Dylan. It’s about taking him around her hometown for the first time, which may have been a wildly different experience than the Colorado native would’ve expected from maybe Beverly Hills or the Southern California coastlines.
Dylan stood beside the stage for many of the songs, looking on proudly as he recorded with his phone.
“That was amazing,” he said afterwards. “She’s always amazing up there.”
Laughs and smiles also came as she debuted a song about the one and only… Walmart. She prefaced the performance with stories of her and friends causing chaos at the Fulkerth Road location as a way to pass the time in the sometimes quiet town.
Before long, emotions started riling up when she grabbed an acoustic guitar and sang “Blue Genes,” a song she had dedicated to her mother, who persevered through the addiction issues that followed Bryan during Ruder’s childhood. It’s a story that went viral when she first shared it to Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, in 2021 on Season 19 of “American Idol.”
The theme of childhood memories continued through the end of the show, with the performance of “Miss California,” a song about Ruder always being true to her home state despite transplanting to Nashville to pursue and advance her music career. She announced that the song, along with a handful of others, are slated to be released in the coming months.
“After leaving home, even though I knew I wanted to chase down a dream somewhere else, I still miss where I came from,” she said. “I come back every time, and I’m like, ‘Man, I wish I could live here.’ But I’ll come visit as much as I can.”
Ruder exited left as she thanked fans, new and old. There were several fairgoers who were drawn to the music and ended up staying to watch the up-and-coming country star. She ended her night catching up with family and friends and taking photos with fans near her merchandise stand after the show.
“I’m so grateful for everyone here tonight,” she said.
Also taking to the Modelo Variety Free Stage this week was Mexican band Los Nuevos Ilegales on Sunday, Vallejo-based funk group Con Funk Shun on Monday, and Grammy-nominated country singer and former Taylor Swift opening act Hunter Hayes.
Con Funk Shun had fans moving and grooving with performances of “Ffun,” “Slide” and “Love’s Train.” Hayes and his band, meanwhile, rocked the crowd with hits like “Wanted” and “I Want Crazy.”
– Courier staff writer Christopher Correa contributed to this report.
