Fair attendance top last year's mark

The 2011 Wahkiakum County Fair may now be passed, but work continues for Fair Manager Becky Ledtke and members of the county fair board.

Ledtke and three fair board members appeared Tuesday at the meeting of the board of county commissioners to report on the fair and discuss points of interest, including the fair queen contest.

Ledtke reported that attendance was 3,731 this year, up from 3,699 in 2010. She and others agreed that the rearranging the layout of buildings when the new arena was constructed has spread out activities, and people are not concentrated on a portion of the Midway, as in the past.

The number of exhibits for fair totaled 2,416, she said; of those, only 949 came from adults.

Because a virus has been affecting horses in the region, the fair reduced the scope of the Silver Buckle horse riding contest from three days to one, but that day was very successful, Ledtke said. The Saturday contest drew 55 riders, two times the number in 2010, and raised $1,530 for the fair.

Ledtke said people and performers were happy with the new stage, which holds more performers, and she added that the entertainment cost was $4,635, under the $7,500 budget figure.

Commissioners suggested the fair board should evaluate the fair queen contest and program.

Commissioner Lisa Marsyla said she had received close to 15 complaints that the contest result had been unfair.

Ledtke said she was already investigating the situation.

Commissioners agreed they didn't want to micromanage the fair, but they wanted the process to be fair.

If it's determined that there was a problem, Marsyala commented, she would like to see both princesses crowned Fair Queen with equal awards from the program.

Editor's note: For further comments about the county fair, see Becky Ledtke's column on Page 4.