PORT ANGELES — Fifteen county residents will show off their talent during the inaugural Clallam County Variety and Talent Show, a new event at this year’s Clallam County Fair.
The show will be at 2 p.m. Sunday on the Wilder Stage the fourth and final day of this year’s fair.
The talent show will feature family acts, bands, singers and other entertainment, Clallam County Fair Director Joel Winborn said.
The fair at the Clallam County Fairgrounds, 1608 W. 16th St., Port Angeles — next to Lincoln Park and William R. Fairchild International Airport — will begin Thursday, with gates opening at 8:30 a.m. each day through Sunday.
Gates will close at 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Buildings will open at 10 a.m. each day, closing at 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Daily fair admission will be $8 for adults, $6 for students and senior citizens, and $5 for children age 6-12, with children 5 and younger admitted free.
Season passes are $24 for adults, $13 for seniors and students, and $12 for children 6-12.
This year’s edition of the fair, which has the theme of “Rock with the Stock,” will offer old-fashioned country fare, including a draft-horse and mule show, a tractor pull, 4-H members showing their animals and, of course, the carnival.
The carnival will open at noon each day, closing at 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Today is the final day to purchase pre-sale carnival tickets for $25.
They can be purchased in Port Angeles at Wilder Auto Center, Higher Grounds East and Higher Grounds West and Swain’s General Store; in Sequim at Treasures ’n’ Thrift; and in Forks at Forks Outfitters.
Carnival operators began setting up rides and games over the weekend, Winborn said.
On Tuesday, most of the rides were set up and ready for inspection, while brightly colored stuffed animals filled carnival game booths nearby.
Each ride is inspected for safety by the Department of Labor and Industry, Winborn said.
The Clallam County Fair queen will be crowned at 7 p.m. Thursday on the Wilder Stage.
Brooklyn Bauer, Katelyn Noard and Ruby Jackson are competing for the crown.
The Clallam County Fair coronation was only recently reclaimed as a fairgrounds event, Winborn said.
For many years, it was held at other locations in Port Angeles.
Bringing the fair royalty back to the fairgrounds was fundamental, he said.
On Friday, major events include the Western Games, beginning at 9 a.m., and the children’s tractor pull at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Saturday’s events include the logging show at noon and rodeo at 5 p.m.
On Sunday, Port Angeles Light Opera Association will perform the “Pirates of Penzance” at noon, and the rodeo will continue at noon.
Sunday’s demolition derby will be the grand finale of the four-day celebration, Winborn said
Derby tickets will go on sale outside the yellow gate at 9 a.m. for $11.
The demolition derby begins at 5 p.m. and requires admission to the fair in addition to derby tickets.
The Clallam County Fair was founded in 1895 as a morale booster after the 1893 bank bust, Winborn said.
For that first fair, the fair founders wrote to the admiral of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet in San Francisco, inviting the entire fleet to the fair.
The fair founders didn’t expect the Navy to accept the invitation, he said.
But on the morning of the first fair, six ships — the entire Pacific Fleet — steamed into Port Angeles Harbor.
The event started a tradition, and the fleet continued visiting the fair until the 1820s, he said.
For eats, a wide variety of foods from Italian ice to cotton candy to hamburgers and meatloaf will be available.
Many food booths are manned by vendors, but the Fair Kitchen is run by the fair itself, Winborn said.
Profits from the kitchen’s sales are invested back into the fairgrounds, he said.
Those funds paid for ventilation in the cattle barn and for the flags that decorate the grounds.
For more information, visit www.clallam.net/countyfair or phone 360-417-2551.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
