PINEDALE — The Pinedale Fine Arts Council (PFAC) will host its bi-annual Kentucky Derby Fundraiser beginning at 3:30 p.m., on Saturday, May 4 at the Sublette County Fair Grounds in Big Piney.
Centered around the actual Kentucky Derby race, the PFAC event starts with a full broadcast of the Derby on the fairground’s giant projection screen by a 6-team stick horse obstacle race featuring local businesses as the jockeys. 2024 stick horse race teams include Pinedale Properties, Jonah Energy, Proactive Rehabilitation, Speciality Drywall, Turquoise Buffalo and coaches from Big Piney. Following the race is a full prime rib dinner, catered this year by The Den. A custom photo booth, hat contest, whiskey raffles and silent auctions round out the fundraiser for a good cause. Waterhole #3 will provide the drinks and Obo’s will provide the appetizers. Jeff Moran is this year’s guest MC.

“It’s pretty crazy when you think about all the different things we try to pull off,” PFAC Executive Director Tim Ruland said. “It’s really five or six events crammed into one.”    

And while the derby fundraiser bills itself as Sublette County’s biggest party, at the heart of the event is PFAC’s school programs which benefit students in both the Pinedale and Big Piney School districts. Proceeds from the event will continue to support these local programs.

“It’s not just that the students enjoy the programs, and the teachers request them year after year,” Ruland explained, “It’s that the exposure to the arts is setting them up for success later in life — and that’s powerful.”

Tickets for PFAC’s Kentucky Derby Fundraiser are $50 and are available at Office Outlet in Pinedale and Big Piney and online at pinedalefinearts.com. Tickets will also be available at the door.

Learn more about PFAC’s numerous arts programs in Pinedale and Big Piney school districts at pinedalefinearts.com