I hope that everyone had a chance to stop by and enjoy the 2011 Wahkiakum County Fair. We had a great line-up of music entertainment for each day plus magicians, reptile shows, line dancers and fencing demonstrations. There were a lot of animal and still life exhibits to look at, animal shows to attend and the weather was perfect. It was a wonderful Fair!

As Fair Manager, of course I had a few “oh no, what do I do now?” times, one being the spelling bee. The person who was to conduct the spelling bee was told the wrong day. It was time for the bee and no one showed up so Valle quickly brought the word lists up on the computer and printed them out. On my way to the stage, Josh Grasseth asked if I needed some help with the bee. I handed him the microphone and he skillfully asked the contestants the words. We had a fun contest. I am very grateful that Josh stepped up to help me when I really needed some assistance!

Some great news to pass on to you, we gave out 89 new exhibitor numbers! This means more people are taking an interest in making our Fair a success. Your exhibits are enjoyed by the hundreds of people that attend our Fair. The Fair is also a great place to show your talents to the community if you are a professional too.

Saturday night, we drew names for the two cords of alder firewood; Walter Deege and Dale Dutcher both went home with a cord of firewood to use this winter. Thank you for purchasing tickets, this fund raising event will support our fairgrounds improvement projects!

Saturday morning, I asked our local Veterans to help with the American flag raising ceremony. As the Veterans raised the flag, the horse riders in the arena stopped, Lois Wakefield with a group of friends and family said the Pledge of Allegiance together. It was a nice way to start the morning and the Silver Buckle Game Show! The VFW donated a beautiful big new flag to the Fairgrounds. We thank them for their wonderful donation.

The Silver Buckle Game Show was an exciting show to watch! I was hoping we would have at least 25 riders at the show. I was really surprised when 55 horses and riders showed up to compete for three Silver Buckles. We had a tie for points in the Junior age division and the two riders (sisters) had to run a tie breaker game. The spectators enjoyed the fast action of the events and did a lot of cheering for their favorite horse and rider. The volunteers that helped at the show were truly an amazing crew. This fund raising event lasted seven hours! My only regret, I didn’t get a picture of the parking lot. It must have been quite a sight, jammed with trailers, trucks and cars!

The Salmon BBQ was again a success serving over 250 people. The Fair Board members and the many volunteers serving at the BBQ hope you enjoyed your dinner!

What is there to do now that our Fair is over? Start planning fund raising events! If you would like to be involved in helping the Fair Board plan and fund raise for the 104th Wahkiakum County Fair, please call Becky Ledtke at 795-3480. New volunteers and ideas are always welcome.

If you need to gain access to the fairgrounds contact Fairgrounds Manager Becky Ledtke at 360-560-0371, or you can call 1-360-795-3480 and leave a message on the fairgrounds answering machine.

The next Wahkiakum County Fair Board meeting is September 14, 7 p.m., T-Building, at the Fairgrounds in Skamokawa. The public is always welcome to attend.