|
Hood River News Editorial
August 2, 2006
Just as soon as it arrived, it was gone: the Hood River County Fair
was blessed by fine weather and friendly crowds.
The fair was one of the more successful ones in memory, according to
Fair Manager Clara Rice.
One can’t say enough about the volunteers who make the fair happen
each year, from Fair Board members who constantly run errands, to the
4-H leaders who keep track of all details such as correct name
spellings on prizes and wiping away of young tears.
“I’m here all week!” joked leader Anne Holmstrom of Cascade Locks,
using the stand-up comedian’s famous line, while taking a few minutes
with her husband, Randy, to view the Open Class art entries.
But “here all week” is no brief stage act: It is a commitment of 24
hours a day, Wednesday through Saturday, or even longer.
Some areas, such as home canning, were down this year, largely because
of the withering heat in the weeks before the fair, but the quality
seemed as high as ever. Seeing pickled asparagus and canned pears on
display is like viewing another kind of art work.
The animal barns were full of life: If you have not done so, next year
plan to tour them in the evening during feeding time to see — and hear
— this heartbeat of the fair.
One excellent improvement to this year’s fair was the plethora of
benches around the fairgrounds. New ones could be found throughout the
midway, giving tired parents and kids plenty of places to rest while
watching and waiting for youngsters to take their turns on the
Tilt-A-Wheel or Tornado.
(The back of one bench had an upside-down engraving, “Josephine County
Fair.” A firm bench is a universal pleasure.)
To Lions members in charge of parking, people who rarely got to sit,
kudos for your usual yeoman’s work getting cars parked in an orderly
fashion. It may be a relatively small fairground, with a close-knit
feel to it, but the parking patrol is a big-time concern and Lions
from throughout the county play the part of being one of the first,
and usually the last, volunteers you see at the fair.
Of course, what makes any fair is the long list of entrants who
display the products of their hard work and put them up for judging.
As usual, Hood River News publishes fair results, starting on page
A11. The results will continue until all are typed up and ready to go
on a page.
Ironically, many fair entrants will have already started creating, or
at least planning, their 2007 contributions. |
