What's happening at the Fair?

On Monday the quote needed from the Knife River Company to get concrete poured in the horse barn walkways was confirmed! Their quote was within the budget we had to work with. All our attention was then focused on getting the dirt removed from the two walkways and the forms in place before Friday. First thing we noticed was the ground was super hard to dig out and was full of big rocks.

We had to use the tractor forks to break up the ground first, then with a lot of help from Mark Cothren the dirt was shoveled into the tractor bucket and hauled to the arena. Wednesday the two pour areas were getting closer to the right depth. Thursday a crew was set up to meet at noon on Friday to work the two big pours of concrete. Bill Chamberlain offered some sound advice and we decided because of his experience with pouring concrete we would change our plan a little. We poured half of each slab in each walkway. By doing this we could work from each end to finish the two 30 foot pours. Thanks to Bill Chamberlain we didn’t have to use wheel barrows to move the concrete to this first pour site. Bill drove his backhoe into the barn with his bucket loaded with concrete and dumped the concrete right where we needed it. It took a big crew of hard workers to do this project, thanks to Ed Stevens, Mark Cothren, Jerry and Becky Ledtke, Valle Ledtke, Mike Antijunti, Cody Vik, Makayla Matthews, Valerie Antijunti, Makenzie Matthews, Lois Wakefield, Ken Gomes, Bill Chamberlain, Barbara Clark, Georgie Billings, Rick, Richie and Makenzie Stevens, we completed half of this project with plans to complete the rest this week. Funds to make this fairgrounds improvement possible were donated by Valerie Antijunti, 4-H Council and a grant.

Thank you for stopping by the Wahkiakum County Fair tent on Bald Eagle Day. It was a rainy but great day. We sold raffle tickets for fire wood, handed out fair books and received some donations to use to operate the 2011 Fair! All proceeds from our raffles will be used for projects on the Fairgrounds, maintenance and the operation of the 2011 Wahkiakum County Fair. Thank you for supporting Wahkiakum County Fair Board fund raisers!

I would like to thank our local PUD for hanging our very heavy wooden Fair sign. I don’t know how old this sign is, but it is the signal that Fair time is fast approaching. All the security light bulbs that were burnt out at last year's Fair have also been replaced. The fairgrounds is glowing with light after the sun goes down and we thank the PUD for helping us get this important job done before Fair also.

Only four more weeks until Fair! Want to be a vendor at the Wahkiakum County Fair? It’s time to give me a call and secure your space! Please leave a message on the recorder.

The exhibitor tags have arrived, you can pick them up at the fair office Monday through Friday noon to 4 p.m. If you need to pick them up on the weekend or later in the evening, call and we can plan a time to meet.

The 2011 Wahkiakum County Fair Princesses, Ashley Hedges and Akaysha Stonebreaker, will be selling fair passes and also raffle tickets for a night's stay at the Great Wolf Lodge. Please support the efforts of both girls, as they work toward raising funds for our Fair and also securing a scholarship to further their education when they graduate from high school. Good luck girls!

I need a T-building Superintendent for Open Class Adult Hobbies & Collections. This is a fun department to manage. If you have some time on your hands, would like to be involved in the fair, this is the perfect opportunity. For all the details call the numbers listed below. Be sure to leave a message, I am just outside working and will call as soon as I am back in the office.

If you need to gain access to the Fairgrounds contact Fair Manager Becky Ledtke at 360-560-0371 or you can call the Fairgrounds Office at 360-795-3480 and leave a message.

The next Wahkiakum County Fair Board meeting will start at 7 p.m. on July 27, in the T-building at the Fairgrounds in Skamokawa. The public is always welcome to attend.