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SAN JUAN COUNTY FAIR |
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Countdown to 2008 FairWe began a 26-day alphabetical countdown Friday night, July 18. The 2008 San Juan County Fair opens Wednesday, August 13 and runs through Saturday, August 16. Information about the fair is available online at www.sanjuancountyfair.org.
Z is for the Zucchini 500 of course. The best event of the fair. OK San Juan Islander may be prejudiced. There are two categories. Stock - take a zucchini and add wheels to it. Or custom - a DNA analysis would reveal a zucchini component. You get the idea. Guess which category has more entries. The rules are simple. No motorized entries and the wheel span can't be over 12 inches. You want to fit on the track - which by the way is new this year. Entries should be registered by 3 p.m. the day of the race. They are displayed and judged for appearance by 4 p.m. (and you don't have to lug them around all day.) Register at the Zucchini 500 Display Booth on the north end of the main fair building. If no one is there, go and ask Sharon at the San Juan Islander booth right inside the main building for help. There are races each day of the fair. The races take place at 5 p.m. in the skate park. You can race one day or as many days as you'd like. Photos from 2006 Zucchini Race Y is for YIKES! Fair entries are due tomorrow. Finish frosting a cake, creating treasure from trash, stitching a quilt, framing a photo, plucking a flower, or whatever else needs to be done to prepare your entries for the 2008 San Juan County Fair. Entries must be dropped off between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday, August 12 at the fairgrounds. Check letter E for the great deal on admission prices exhibitors receive. And remember, entries must be picked up between 9 a.m. and noon on Sunday, August 17. X is for X you mark on ballots (well it's really an oval you fill in but let's pretend). Voters will find plenty of political candidates to talk to at the fair. W is for WORKING FROM A MODEL with BRYN BARNARD. Scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, this is one of the Fine Arts demonstrations taking place during the fair. V is for VARIETY of FOOD. The Fair wouldn't be the fair without elephant ears, corn dogs, berries with ice cream, PTA pies, cotton candy, curly fries, sno-cones, and the deep-fried twinkies. U is for UMBRELLA. Let's hope we don't need them. (OK I was really stuck). This event has been cancelled due to lack of entries. S is for STEAK served at the Purple and Gold Steak Dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday night. Cost is $15 and includes, steak, potato, salad, dinner roll, & beverage. R is for RECYCLING (...and littering less): Look for this year's new and improved recycling set-ups at the Fair to help increase our community's recycling success. By recycling, we can save resources that can be reused to make new products. Recycling requires much less energy and keeps waste from piling up in landfills. These can all be recycled together: clean aluminum cans, glass or plastic beverage containers, paper and cardboard. (NO food, liquids, or garbage, please!) Q is for QUILTS of course. Check out the latest in patchwork and other quilt designs in the Wool Shed. P is for PATIO. Want to be immortalized in brick, be part of a new patio at the fairgrounds and support the county's 4-H educational activities and scholarship program at the same time? Now you can as part of a fundraising effort aimed at "building the future, brick by brick," that the county's 4-H Leadership Council will kick off at this year's fair. The organization hopes to sell at least 100 bricks and raise at least $10,000 this year. In addition to raising money for The SJC 4H Leaders' Council Education Activities Scholarship (EAS) fund, the bricks will become part of a patio and sitting area in front of the fairgrounds' Marie Boe 4-H building, a sidewalk at the back of the building and possibly other areas at the Fairgrounds. The EAS fund is used to sponsor San Juan County 4H member's attendance to several regional and national teen events as well as the Whatcom County Youth Fair and Washington State Fair. Contributions of $200 and up buys an 8" x 8" brick with up to seven lines of inscription. Contributions of $100-$200 buys a 4x4 brick with up to three lines. A contribution of $25 or more buys you a line of inscription on a brick with other names inscribed. There will be a booth where bricks can be purchased in the 4-H building, and purchase forms also will be available at the San Juan Islands Community Foundation booth in the fairgrounds' commercial building. 4-H is excited about their recent partnering with the San Juan Island Community Foundation on to establish a designated fund. Donations that are contributed to the SJICF 4H Designated fund will be available for 4H EAS at any time. The other option for donors is to specify the San Juan County endowed fund which is managed by the Washington State 4H Foundation; only the interest earned on this account is made available to the EAS. More information is available from Alice Hibberd at the WSU Extension Office, 378-4414. O is for Opera dei Pupi. The Carter Family Marionettes will be presenting "Cinderella" twice daily at the BBQ Stage. The Carter Family Marionettes have been featured performers at National and World Puppet Festivals from Scotland to Uzbekistan. The company has been awarded the "UNIMA/USA Citation of Excellence" (the highest award in American puppet theater) for three of their productions. The Carters are especially known for their mastery and preservation of the traditional Sicilian marionette theater known as Opera dei Pupi. N is for NATIVE PLANTS. Colleen Howe-Gregory from Mitchell Bay Farm will show talk about Propagating Native Plants at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Agricultural tent. M is for MUSIC. The Fair has a variety of musical entertainment lined up including:
L is for LOOP RUN. The 31st Annual Friday Harbor 8.8K Loop Run begins at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, August 16. The race, sponsored by San Juan Island Fitness and Island Rec, starts on Spring Street and ends at the Fair. Race participants receive a free t-shirt and entrance into the fair on Saturday. Awards ceremony following the race takes place on the Entertainment Stage. To register go to Island Rec at 580 Guard Street or to www. islandrec.org and download a form or to pay by credit card go to www.active.com. Day of race registration accepted between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. at Wells Fargo Bank parking lot on Spring Street. Call Island Rec at 378-4953 for more information. K is for KITCHEN GARDEN NETWORK. Neal Foley from the Kitchen Garden Network will do one of the four Cooking With Local Foods presentations in the Agricultural Tent. His presentation is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. J is for JESSICA McDONALD. Artist Jessica McDonald will do a demonstration about collage from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday as part of the Fine Arts demonstrations. I is for INFANT CAR SEATS given away for free. The San Juan Island Emergency Medical Service will be standing by at the Fair with Advanced Life Support Capabilities, free basic first aid, and free community resources. Bring the children by for a tour of the ambulance and free coloring books and stickers. Come by to sign up for the Airlift membership service. Free bicycle helmets and infant car seats will be available while supplies last. EMS encourages everyone to stay well hydrated, wear sunscreen and enjoy the fair. Visit their Web site at www.SanJuanEMS.org. H is for HAWK that is part of the Predators of the Heart show. The wildlife conservation and educational organization will present three shows a day in the BBQ area. Learn how predators keep nature in balance, about our role in conservation and how we can help. This show features some of the larger animals which include an 8-foot American Alligator, a 100-pound Alligator Snapping Turtle, a Giant Python, Hawk, Eagle Owl, Cougar, Bobcat and more. G is for GEORGE GIBBS. One of the exhibits in the Agriculture (AG) tent includes the history of Orcas Island resident George W. Gibbs who brought the first tulips to the Pacific NW in 1890 and whose work eventually led to the burgeoning bulb industry in Skagit Valley. The AG tent is organized by the Agricultural Resource Committee. It also includes exhibits on benefits of buying, eating and growing local agricultural products. Daily presentations on cooking with locally grown foods and much more. F is for FIBER ARTS. Felting, hooking, weaving, basketmaking and three-person knitting-in-the-round will take place in the Fiber Courtyard. Two competitions are included this year: "Spinning of the Longest Thread and Speed Knitting. To enter the Speed Knitting Contest: Prepare by using a size 7 or 8 needle and appropriately-sized yarn to knit a three or four row sample; bring it along with yarn and needles to the Fiber Courtyard on Saturday for the competition. E is for EXHIBITORS. Did you know the easiest way to save on the admission price for the San Juan County Fair? Enter an exhibit. Then you are entitled to buy an exhibitor pass which costs the same or less than a daily pass but is good for all four days of the fair. For example an Adult Season Pass costs $22. An Adult Day Pass costs $15. An Exhibitor Pass costs $15. Young people receive even a better deal. Youth (age 5 to 16) Season Passes cost $10. A Daily Pass costs $8. A Youth Exhibitor Pass costs $5. Children under 5 receive free admission. Check out the online Premium Book and plan your entry. Most items are entered on Tuesday, August 12. D is for DEMONSTRATIONS. The Fair will include Sus Kellog's Natural Horsemanship demonstration. Sheep to Shawl, which by the end of the demonstration the shawl produced from the wool is raffled off to a lucky winner.
C is for CENTENNIAL. Not the centennial of the Fair, that was last year. The Town of Friday Harbor celebrates its 100th birthday Feb. 9, 2009. The centennial celebration kicks off at the 2008 county Fair. The triangle area in the center of the fairgrounds will feature an exhibit with ten panels showing the history of the town by decades. Kevin and Ann Peterson created the exhibit. Information about the centennial activities will be available at the exhibit including:
By the way, the Centennial committee has approved the following items as official Centennial souvenirs:
B is for BAKED GOODS AND BEER. Exhibitors bring their best efforts to the fair in hopes of winning ribbons. The prizes are for ribbons: Blue/$4, Red/$3 White/ribbon only. There is a special trophy for the best apple pie. The rules for baked goods are posted on the page 21 of the PDF on the Fair's Web site.. The Beer and Wine entries which also include cider (all entries must be alcoholic) will be judged by Brent Charnley, owner of Lopez Vineyards. The prizes are for ribbons: Blue/$4, Red/$3 White/ribbon only. The entry rules are posted on Page 21 of the PDF on the Fair's Web site. posted 07/18/2008
The awards include: MORE INFORMATION |
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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