What's Happening at the Fair?

The Two Island Farmers Market was a great place to sell the Wahkiakum County Fair Board's last packages of smoked Salmon last Friday. We completely sold out and the fund raiser was a success. Thanks again to Art Pedersen, Mike Clark of C&H Classic Smoked Fish, E&E Seafoods and the Two Islands Farmers Market for helping make this fund raising project possible.

Our next fund raising raffle will be for a cord of alder firewood. We will be selling $1 raffle tickets at every Wahkiakum County Fair Board event. The alder firewood was cut recently and will be nice and dry by August. We plan to draw the winning ticket on August 17 at the 2013 Wahkiakum County Fair.

Our 2013 preliminary budget meeting with the county commissioners was the time to bring up 2012 premiums and how lack of paying adult premiums did effect participation at the fair. The premiums we paid just to youth exhibitors this year totaled $9,231. In 2013 we added into our budget proposal $13,500 to be used for adult and youth premiums. I am hoping the commissioners will approve our budget as proposed this year. Once the budget is approved, it will be time to plan next year's fair and start some new fairground improvement projects.

Donations to help operate the 2013 Wahkiakum County Fair are needed. In 2012 we lost $4,000 in state funding because of budget troubles in our State and we will receive the same funding in 2013. Once again, I am happy to say thank you to Cathlamet Realty West for their generous donation to help support the fair. Their donations have been a big help this year funding necessary projects and operations of the fair. Thank you, Cathlamet Realty West, for your continued support and much appreciated donation!

If you are able to make a donation to support the fair, please do. Send donations to Wahkiakum County Fair, PO Box 1, Skamokawa, WA 98647. You will be able to see how your donation was put to good use at the fair.

The fair rummage and book sale will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday until it starts snowing and the roads get icy. Good usable items are added each week, we have hundreds of good books and movies too. If you have some good reusable items to donate, please give me a call or bring them by our Saturday sales. We don’t have room for furniture at this time. Helping to staff the sale last Saturday was Kathy Elliott, Char and Rick Damitio. Thanks, Kathy, Char and Rick!

Attention youth exhibitors: Be sure to cash your fair premium check before November 10. The account will be closed on November 11.

Turkey Bingo is only two weeks away! Fair Board members are collecting raffle prizes, planning a snack menu and organizing volunteers to help at this fund raising event. We have purchased the Grand raffle prize. This year the Fair Board decided to raffle a Sears Kenmore stainless steel and porcelain propane barbecue. The barbecue has a cooking grill, a searing burner, a warming rack and a side burner. Raffle tickets are only $1 each and will be sold at our Turkey Bingo fund raiser on November 16, at the J. A. Wendt School in the multi-purpose room. Doors open at 6 p.m. and bingo begins at 6:30 p.m. At the end of the evening a raffle ticket will be drawn and one lucky person will take home a new Sears Kenmore barbecue. Every bingo winner receives a ham or turkey for their bingo prize at this event. Mark November 16 on your calendar, spend the evening with your family playing bingo and support the Wahkiakum County Fair.

The fairgrounds are open for limited hours in November. If you need to gain access to the fairgrounds contact Manager Becky Ledtke at 560-0371, or you can call 360-795-3480 and leave a message on the fairgrounds answering machine.

The next Wahkiakum County Fair Board meeting is November 14, 7 p.m. at the County Courthouse in Cathlamet, 3rd floor meeting room.