WANT TO SEE how to strike unmitigated terror into the hearts of hundreds of people, mostly male people?
Watch.
OK, now, we’re all remembering what next Saturday is, right?
A lot of males just freaked.
“Is it our anniversary? No! How would he know that? Is it my mother-in-law’s birthday? No! He wouldn’t know that, either. Valentine’s Day? No, we just did that. The day I promised to go shopping for new curtains?”
(What?)
It’s the seventh annual Forks Family Fair.
What?
I said, it’s the seventh annual Forks Family Fair. Specifically, it’s from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Forks Elks Lodge, strategically situated at 941 Merchants Road in Forks.
And yes, you do care.
Here’s why:
The Forks Family Fair has been getting bigger and bigger for seven years.
Do you know why?
Because it is exactly what it says it is: a family fair.
There are all kinds of rather interesting tables and booths, like Family Caregiver and Kinship Navigator support programs, 4-H clubs, amateur emergency radio service, the Northwest Justice Project, PenCom (9-1-1), Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, American Red Cross, SHIBA (help with health insurance), the Caring Place and on and on.
Plus, there will be kids everywhere.
The Laff Pack Clowns will do face painting, and there will be a 4-H petting zoo, canine exhibitions, a bike rodeo, health screenings, refreshments and more.
And it’s free. In fact, you could go to this, even with kids/grandkids in tow, have a pretty fun several hours and never spend a cent unless you want to.
Let’s all just stop being terribly busy and terribly sophisticated and terribly cool for just a minute and think about that: I could go to this family fair, take kids and/or grandkids, have a good time, maybe learn some stuff, pet a goat, laugh and go home.
I don’t have to spend a lot of money, because there isn’t a lot to spend money on, and the whole world won’t be trying to sell me something.
The kids can have a good time, I’ll probably see people I know and I won’t have to think about “fake news” or what’s wrong with the world because I can go look at what’s right with the world: genuinely decent people who care being genuinely decent people.
You’re not from Forks or the West End? But this sounds kinda fun? Go.
Nobody’s going to check your address of origin at the door. Just go.
Nice people, a pretty and vibrant community, a busy, fun place and (if history holds) nice weather.
And it’ll be Saturday.
You can take a day off from a tired, frightened world — from hearing about all the people, places, things and events that should scare you to death or offend you or turn you into a sad, lonely cynic.
It’s a family fair. Lighten up. Get your own face painted.
Want to learn about the library? The Emblem Club? (What’s an “Emblem Club”?)
See?
If you need help — just about any kind of “help,” whether you’re older or younger or in the space in between — there will be people present who know about it and what it could mean to you and yours. These are amazing people.
But you aren’t required to need help.
You’re required to show up and be a human being — not with this label or that affiliation or this philosophy or that heritage; just a human being.
Among a bunch of other human beings who all have one thing in mind: avoiding shopping for new curtains.
________
Mark Harvey is director of Clallam/Jefferson Senior Information &Assistance, which operates through the Olympic Area Agency on Aging. He is also a member of the Community Advocates for Rural Elders partnership. He can be reached at 360-452-3221 (Port Angeles-Sequim), 360-385-2552 (Jefferson County) or 360-374-9496 (West End), or by emailing harvemb@dshs.wa.gov.
