PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Fair, celebrating its 77th anniversary, offers a weekend of fun, food, animals and community.
“People who come here can see what Jefferson County can make, create and grow,” said Sue McIntire, who manages the event with her husband, Bill.
“This is an old-fashioned country fair where people feel safe and comfortable, where you can connect with your neighbors,” she added.
The fair opened Friday and continues from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, 4907 Landes St.
General admission tickets are $6. Tickets are $5 for those older than 65 and for students from 13 to 17 years old. They are $2 for children ages 6 to 12. Children younger than 5 get in free.
The ever-popular beef barbecue from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. is $8, while Saturday’s salmon barbecue from noon to 3 p.m. is $10.
About 12,000 people are expected to show up during the weekend, holding steady from last year.
This year’s fair provides all of the expected events — including the 4-by-4 mud drags on the main stage at 11 a.m. Sunday — along with something missing last year.
Piglets this year
“We have piglets,” Bill McIntire said.
“We didn’t have them last year, and people were disappointed.
“This year, I’ve talked to several people, and they’ve asked if the piglets are coming. When I say they are, they say, ‘Then so are we.’”
Sue McIntire said much of the fair’s appeal is the ability to get up close and personal with the animals.
“Kids don’t see these animals anywhere else. This is the only time where they can get close to them and touch them,” she said.
“A lot of them have never seen cows. They don’t know where milk comes from.”
Aside from the animals, a variety of livestock, food and crafts competitions draw people from all over the region.
Judging goods
On Wednesday, Connie Lammers and Stewart Smith were evaluating baked goods, tasting the finished products and applying objective criteria to the products.
It’s not important if they like what they taste; they judge whether the cake or pie follows the checklist for shape, texture and other factors.
“I’ve given blue ribbons to things that didn’t taste good to me because they meet all the qualifications on the list,” Smith said.
Both Smith and Lammers are from Port Angeles.
Kathi Johnson, who supervises the judges, recruits them from out of town on purpose.
“We don’t want the judges to know the people they are judging,” Johnson said.
“If you got someone from the local yarn store to judge the weaving competition, they wouldn’t be fair because they may have sold the yarn for the project.”
Winners of all the competitions will be on display and in some cases for sale.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
