What's Happening at the Fair?

Here we go again! Rummage sale time! This Saturday (May 15), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds in Skamokawa. New items have been donated and we are selling them at bargain prices. Come visit with your neighbors and you may get the opportunity to talk to county commissioner Blair Brady, as he usually shows up at our fund raisers that support the fair.

As we prepare for our 2010 Fair a lot of time is spent making decisions by the Fair Board. I thought you might be interested to know who these people are, and what they do to keep the Fair a part of our summers. They do fund raising, make decisions for fair events, plan and implement projects on the fairgrounds, oversee use of the fairgrounds by other groups, and volunteer their time before and during the fair.

The Fair Board has 12 board members and one alternate. They are Phil Vik, Jean Beerbower, Martha Backman, Gordon Calvert, Gregg Carlson, Neil Beerbower, Debbie Twiet, Bill Coons, Cheryl Backman (Alternate), Jerry Ledtke (Secretary), Patty Dursteler (Treasurer), Kay Walters (Vice President) Becky Ledtke (President).

The state funding is a little under half of what it takes to fund the fair. The Wahkiakum County Fair Board has put together many fund raising events this year to help meet the fairs required budget. They included the Valentine Diamond Dinner, Easter Bingo, Turkey Bingo, Fair and 4-H Rummage Sale and we also sold Douglas Fir trees. This year, we have a brand new fund raiser made possible by the new arena we have. We named this new one The Silver Buckle Series Open Game Show. There is no admission charge to watch the first two game shows; the last one, because it is during the fair, you pay admission to the fair. There will be three shows: June 19, July 31, and August 21, during the fair. The show events scheduled are Texas Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Key Hole, Figure Eight, Speed Barrels, International Flags and Showmanship. To win these events you need a fast horse and a talented rider. Should be a good show! A special thank-you to Ginger Moonen for helping the Fair Board plan these shows. She also has been contacting horse clubs, finding awards, and promoting the use of our arena! Thank you Ginger!

What makes the Fair happen each year? We depend on our community to attend Fair Board fund raisers throughout the year, volunteers to help us before and during fair, the county commissioners to provide as much support for projects as they can, an efficient fair manager, everyone inside and outside of our county to bring their animals and still life projects to exhibit, and most important, everyone attend the Fair. That’s what makes the Wahkiakum County Fair happen each year!

The Dollars for Scholars Barbecue & Sturgeon Derby, and Rods and Reels Rod Run is June 5. This is a huge event that happens on the fairgrounds. This event is put together so our graduating seniors from Naselle and Wahkiakum High Schools will have scholarships to use for college. I hear there will be even more classy and flashy cars this year. Don’t miss this event it’s a lot of fun!

The next Wahkiakum County Fair Board meeting is June 9, 7 p.m., 3rd floor courthouse meeting room. The public is always welcome to attend. The fair office is open for limited hours in May. If you need to gain access to the fairgrounds contact Lore at 360-849-4315. You can call 360-795-3480 and leave a message on the fairgrounds answering machine also.