New fair arena going up

The Wahkiakum County Fair is gearing up with new vendors, promenade, and, if all goes as planned, a new arena.

Construction on the new $500,000 replacement arena is underway.

“They tell me it will be ready by fair day,” Fair Manager Sarah Lawrence said this week.

Right now the fair grounds are a mixture of sound and fury. Dust mingles with the emergency warning beeps from heavy equipment. Other construction sounds emanating from near the horse barn, coupled with the high pitched whine of a table saw in the cow barn add to the hectic atmosphere.

“We’ve got lots going on, lots of local suppliers and contractors and I hope we’ll be pouring the arena’s new concrete slab this week,” said Lawrence.

Along with the arena, Lawrence said the fair is really starting to take shape. Money came in to replace all the chicken cages in the animal barn. FEMA money helped replaced freezers in the Grange Food booth and the Youth Building has a new range and refrigerator.

But planning for the arena was a different story. Lawrence said it was hard to translate a three dimensional idea from paper to the work that needed to be done. The arena space turned out to be trickier than first thought because when workers started they didn’t notice there was one-foot elevation difference between the north and south ends of the arena.

The problem with the arena’s levels wasn’t insurmountable, but in order for the fair to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the fair now has to move the old flagpole to accommodate a new access ramp.

“But the new promenade is taking shape and I’m really excited about that,” said Lawrence.

The fair grounds has limited space and the new promenade and vendor areas are being designed for versatility.

“We’ve left space for the future,” Lawrence. "The real kicker is we’ve increased the arena space in such a way that, if we want, we will be able to build upon what we have and maybe add a restroom or another food area in the future.”

Lawrence said the fair has a lot of new food and craft vendors this year too. “I think people heard what happened with the collapse of the old arena and they are coming to show their support,” she said.

One vendor who came to the fair last year this year sent Lawrence her vendor’s contract and a check for $50 to help with arena construction.

“One of the biggest things I’ve learned as fair manager is that everyone feels the fair belongs to them, and everyone has their own memory and attachment to the fair,” said Lawrence.