County's first online fair now underway

Wahkiakum County Fair and WSU Wahkiakum County Cooperative Extension Service have launched the county's first online, virtual fair.

The 112th in-person fair was cancelled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Staff are now taking entries for open class and 4-H/youth divisions.

Entries are due by midnight, Saturday. Entries will be on display next week at the https://wahkiakumfair.org/ website under Virtual Fair Showcase.

The website has a button that takes one to the entry form. People can upload three pictures or one video per entry.

"It is so simple it can be done with a phone," Fair Board President Bob Blalock said in an email. "You can take pictures while filling out the form. The form is like filling out the entry cards in the past. Look up department, division, class and lot from last year's Fair Book. If you don't have a fair book from last year it is also on the site."

Meanwhile, 4-H youth are encouraged to submit photos of their art, animal entries, sewing projects, and crafts now to wahkiakum4h@gmail.com, said Cooperative Extension Agent Carrie Backman. Video entries of animal showmanship or fashion review are also encouraged.

Entries will be judged by 4-H judges virtually, by viewing submissions as they are received and compiled in Google Drive by 4-H volunteers.

For more information on how to enter, visit the WSU Extension website, at wahkiakum.wsu.edu, or call the Extension office at 360-795-3278. All entries will be available to the public to view after they are judged on the Wahkiakum County Fair website, at wahkiakumfair.org.

Market sale scheduled

The fair will also hold a virtual market sale, Backman said.

Many Wahkiakum youth "learned by doing" in 4-H this year, she explained. They built robots, raised animals, knitted and crocheted blankets, sewed clothing, canned fruits and vegetables, photographed new vistas, and created a variety of other 4-H projects. 4-H members traditionally sell some of these items at the annual Market Sale, held at the Wahkiakum County Fair, to earn money for next year's project supplies or school necessities. In preparation for the sale each year, they market and recruit buyers, and prepare their items to show their best.

The virtual Market Sale works like a silent auction, Backman said, in which bidders fill out a short online form with their contact information, and then view photos and videos of the 4-H projects on a Google Slides presentation.

There is a link at the bottom of each slide where a buyer can place their bid. If bidders prefer to make phone bids rather than use the online bidding, phone bids can be made by calling the WSU Extension office at 360-795-3278. Find the link to the virtual Market Sale and bidder form at http://wahkiakum.wsu.edu.