Eastern Oregon Livestock Show returns, carrying Union County tradition forward
From horse check-ins to the Main Street parade, Union’s livestock show will again fill the first full week of June with 116 years of tradition.
The Eastern Oregon Livestock Show will return to Union June 7-14 with the same blend of youth competition, rodeo action and hometown routine that has kept it alive since 1908. Organizers are leaning into that history with the 2026 theme, Carrying Tradition forward, while reminding Union County that the show still depends on volunteer labor and modest membership dues of $5 for a single person and $10 for a family.
The event’s staying power runs through generations of local families and exhibitors, including Keelie Jones, an 18-year-old Eastern Oregon Livestock Show and Rodeo Queen candidate. Jones is a graduate of Union High School and Portland Community College, and she has been involved with the show for as long as she can remember. She said her passion for horses began before she could walk, a detail that fits a show built as much on family continuity as on ribbons and buckles.
This year’s schedule keeps the show centered on 4-H, FFA and the public events that draw people into town. Market-animal weigh-in is set for Wednesday, June 10, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Market classes will follow at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 11, and 8:30 a.m. Friday, June 12. The Main Street Parade in Union is scheduled for Friday, June 12, with lineup at noon and the parade starting at 2 p.m.
The rodeo side of the week will begin in earnest Thursday night with Ed Miller Xtreme Bulls at 6:30 p.m. PRCA rodeo and pari-mutuel horse racing will run June 12, 13 and 14, with pari-mutuel horse racing also appearing daily across the rodeo stretch. The schedule adds a livestock auction Saturday, June 13, at 8 a.m. and Stockshow Cowboy Church on Sunday, June 14, at 10 a.m.
The show carries unusual weight for a local event. The Oregon Heritage Commission has designated it an Oregon Heritage Tradition, and state racing materials describe it as the oldest show in the Northwest. Entries come from Union, Baker, Wallowa and Umatilla counties, but organizers say anyone in Eastern Oregon can enter. That regional draw, paired with presale tickets priced at $18 for adults and $13 for youth ages 6-12, shows how the show continues to function as both a community ritual and an economic engine. Gate prices will be $20 for adults and $15 for youth ages 6-12, while veterans and active military personnel with military ID will receive free entry at the gate.
In Union, the livestock show is not just a nod to the past. It remains a working institution, carried forward by families, youth exhibitors and volunteers who keep June crowded with purpose.
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