Kittitas Valley Event Center

Arriving at the Kittitas Valley Event Center, a visitor first notices the mix of restored, century-old buildings and open western-town charm spread across the Kittitas County Fairgrounds in Ellensburg. The grounds trace back to 1885, when the first county fair was held, and took their permanent shape in 1923 when the rodeo arena and original buildings went up; a $3.5 million historic renovation completed in 2001 preserved that character, and the Fairgrounds Historic District is now listed on both the Washington State and National Registers of Historic Places. Guests moving through the property find a range of spaces built for different kinds of gatherings: the newly remodeled Armory Main Hall with its built-in audio and video equipment and three adjacent break-out rooms, the Manastash Room and Heritage Center with a wall of historic Kittitas Valley photographs, the twin Teanaway and Umtanum Halls with commercial kitchens and roll-up doors for easy haul-in, and Western Village, a cluster of buildings fashioned after 1890s western towns with a dance hall, bar, kitchen, and five small shops. The Gold Buckle Room looks out over the Rodeo Arena, home to the Ellensburg Rodeo and its seating for more than 9,000 patrons. Outdoors, the Gazebo and Frontier Village add space for gatherings that spill outside, while Bloom Pavilion and the historic barns and stalls accommodate equine and livestock events alongside trade shows and exhibits.