To Sarah Overbeck, marketing and communications director at Carbondale Arts, Carbondale’s Mountain Fair is magic.

It’s the “magic of the human spirit,” Overbeck said. “Everyone of every background, every age, every ethnicity, every identity, can come together and celebrate what it means to live in this beautiful place and set differences aside — there’s so much division happening in the world right now, but Mountain Fair is the epitome of coming together and the generosity of the human spirit and seeing it in all forms, which is especially visible through all of the volunteers that make it happen every year.”

Now in its 54th year, Mountain Fair returns to Carbondale Friday through Sunday for a weekend of community, competition and frivolity. The fair, hosted by Carbondale Arts, is a local, volunteer-run, unsponsored celebration rooted in the values that represent the city and the love, humanity and history that have been poured into its artistic community.

“It’s what makes Mountain Fair stand out as a unique festival, is that it’s by the community for the community from its inception,” Overbeck said. “The roots of it are special and unique in that if you move to a place where you get giant corporate sponsorships it removes it from being…the community-rooted barn-raising that it really is.”

Although the iconic fair began as a small traveling chautauqua, organized by the Mother of the Fair, Laurie Loeb, in 1971, it has since grown into an expansive multi-day event featuring everything from wood splitting to art vendors and performances by over 25 entertainers. Last year’s fair drew around 18,000 attendees, according to Overbeck.

Every year, over 500 volunteers dedicate days to organizing the free event, managing everything from setup and take down to security, parking, a raffle, silent auction and so much more.

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“It’s pretty incredible,” Overbeck said. “A lot of those people will take the whole week off of work to help with setup and tear down and it’s so humbling and incredible every single year how much we see how much the fair means to people outside of the Carbondale Arts Office. It’s really like the community’s fair.”

Each Mountain Fair is given a new theme — this year, the fair’s theme is “¡Let’s Dance, Bailemos!” Each day also has a theme and attendees are encouraged to dress up in the spirit of “Dancing Queens,” or disco night, on Friday, “Ziggy Stardust,” “Let’s Dance,” or androgynous glam rock star, on Saturday and “Shake It! ¡Sacúdelo!” with loose, flowing clothing fit for dancing on Sunday.

“There’s always an effort to consider the community spirit that Mountain Fair represents — the inclusivity of that is important to Carbondale Arts, considering, just like the Carbondale ethos in general, of welcoming everyone in the Roaring Fork community as a whole,” Overbeck said. “That’s always something that we take into consideration when coming up with a theme.”

Over 100 vendors, with products ranging from locally handmade candles to jewelry, clothing and, of course, food, open their booths for the 54th Mountain Fair in Sopris Park at noon on Friday, July 25.

The Mountain Fair’s opening blessing with Gabriela Mejia and friends is slated for 3:50 p.m. and the traditional Rhythm of the Heart Community Drum Circle, led by Loeb herself, at 4 p.m.

“The drum circle is literally like the heartbeat of Mountain Fair. That’s what it feels like when you’re in it and around it — you can hear it from blocks away,” Overbeck said. “When you’re in it, the actual vibrations of it, you’re like, ‘Let’s go.’ It sets a tone. It gets everyone excited.

“It’s tangibly getting everyone on the same level of joyfulness,” she added. “It’s the bringing in of everybody, sort of like the triangle that you ring at dinner time on a ranch…this is a drum circle of like, all right, everybody come, come experience mountain fair. That’s what it feels like.”

Friday’s festivities come to a close with a headline performance by indie rock band The Nude Party at 8 p.m.

The Oasis Block Party, a recent addition to Mountain Fair, expands the festivities from Sopris Park into downtown Carbondale with additional programming and activities by community partners on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This year’s block party will feature performances by groups including Rock and Roll Academy, Valley Bluegrass Jam and Wild Flight.

Saturday’s schedule is chock-full of beloved Mountain Fair traditions like the fly-casting competition, pie-baking competition, adult limbo contest and the women’s wood splitting competition. Performers include groups like the Crystal River Youth Ballet, Roaring Fork Youth Orchestra and the Sopris Soarers, as well as El Javi and a headline performance by all-female surf rock and psychedelic pop band La Luz at 8 p.m.

“You can’t not say (wood splitting) as one of your favorites because it’s always hilarious, it’s a really fun, lighthearted competition,” Overbeck said. “Everyone really cheers everybody else on and the crowd gets really involved. Everybody wears costumes for that too.”

On Sunday, the festivities continue with another of Overbeck’s favorite events — the Porcupine Group Bike Race — as well as the cake-baking and double horses competition, men’s wood splitting competition, group dances and performances by performers including Heady Hooligan and the Fretliners.

“I think the Porcupine Bike Race is a really sweet tradition…but anytime we get photos from the people who participate, it’s always this beautiful day with Sopris in the background and everyone dresses up in costume. It’s really fun,” Overbeck said.

The 54th Mountain Fair closes with a performance by funk, soul and rock band Diggin Dirt at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

“(The energy) is joyful, it’s generous, It’s just everybody having a good time, and for how many people put in manual labor, time, talent and in-kind donations, it really feels like it’s something that we’ve all earned,” Overbeck said. “It’s a way to celebrate summer — school starts back up again soon.

“It’s a way to celebrate this unique, awesome community, and I think everybody always has really amazing attitudes and cares for each other and comes into it with the best attitude and display of human spirit,” she added. “It’s pretty incredible.”

Volunteers are still needed for the 54th Mountain Fair. Sign up to volunteer or view the entire event schedule at carbondalearts.com/mountain-fair