PORT ANGELES — Everything is lining up in preparation for the Clallam County Fair from Aug. 14-17.
The three county commissioners heard an update on the fair during their work session on Monday.
“We have pretty much everything taken care of,” said Don Crawford, the county’s director of parks, fair and facilities. “Everything is contracted, the entertainment’s all contracted. We have done a really good job this year with our kids day, which is always Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.”
The theme is Beelieve in the Magic of the Fair, so there will be pollinator activities for children to take part in, and the first 500 kids will receive a free T-shirt.
“That Thursday’s going to be a big deal,” Crawford said.
For the rest of the fair, the beer garden is ready to go and the carnival is contracted and insured, Crawford said.
“We’re full,” he said. “Exhibitors for the exhibition barns we have more numbers than we have had in the past decade. A broad spectrum of numbers are up. We’re real excited about that.”
For the barns, 4H and FFA participants get first priority, and then it goes to children in the open class, Crawford said.
One issue the fair advisory board has been dealing with is there will not be a supervisor for the art barn.
“For this year, we have a number of volunteers that we have garnered to help us with monitoring and setting up,” Crawford said. “We have our judge. We’re gonna get through, and it’s going to be fine.”
The fair advisory board is on track to get sponsorships for the general fair, the rodeo, the logging show and the exhibition barns.
“For the sake of the fair, we are on track to make our revenue projection in the county budget,” Crawford said.
One change this year was the advertising budget was cut so the board put money into internet advertising with posts on Facebook and Instagram.
“In the last month, we’ve had over 70,000 views,” Crawford said. “In the past, we’ve had a fraction of that. It is bringing a lot of interest and excitement, so we’re gonna continue to do that.”
County Administrator Todd Mielke said he has higher confidence this year than he has in the past. Commissioners were told that all entertainers will have their check in hand once their performance is finished, whereas in years past, contractors said checks could take up to six weeks.
In other business, commissioners learned about a $250,000 grant the Rodeo Association is planning to apply for so it can upgrade the fair arena.
“Our goal is to improve the rodeo and surrounding areas and replace extremely outdated equipment,” said Joe Marceau, the vice president of the association. “I think we need to improve those things for the coming generations.”
The improvements will focus on increasing safety for both animals and people.
“This really revolves around safety,” Marceau said. “We’re trying to be stewards of what we’re doing, but we also want to provide the next generation with the right equipment.”
One example of a needed repair is the lighting in the arena, he said. Some of the lights are 50 years old and no longer work.
“This grant would be phenomenal to help us,” Rashell Hermann said. “I don’t like to use sponsorship money for upgrades. Sponsors want to see money go toward prizes to make it a better show.”
The grant application is due in late September, so upgrades would come after this year’s fair.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
