No wine at Evergreen State Fair, but plenty of swine

As we mentioned Tuesday, there is no alcohol served at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe.

Jude Thomas Vang thought she and her sister could get a little Chardonnay one year at the annual fair.

"We were standing in front of the rabbit barn when we spotted what we thought was a wonderful new addition to the fair," Thomas Vang says. "There in big letters was a sign on a barn across the way with WINE written on it."

Woo hoo, she says, they thought they would check it out.

"We walked over only to find out the 'S' was covered by a flag," she says. "Only pigs were in the barn, not wonderful beverages for us."

She says they laugh about it every year.

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Be careful as you take end of summer strolls.

Washington Trails Association says one of the most endangered trails in our state is in Snohomish County.

It's called Milk Creek, located at the end of the Suiattle River Road near Darrington. Before the Suiattle River Road was washed out in several places, beginning with storms of 2003, the trail was a popular gateway into the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

According to a new report, after seven years of total isolation, the Milk Creek Trail is in complete disarray, horribly overgrown and lost in many places. Very few hikers have made their way over the road washouts the past few years and those who have report major damage.

Most hikers turn around at the first missing bridge that spans the Suiattle River.

The trail is at risk of falling off the map.

The report included a plea for funding.

"We cannot afford to let trails be neglected or destroyed," says Jonathan Guzzo, advocacy director for the Washington Trails Association. "The long-term viability of many of our trails is critically dependent on more stable sources of funding."

Another trail to avoid is called Mount Higgins, off the Mountain Loop Highway outside of Granite Falls. A Trails Association report notes illegal target shooting.

For more information, call Guzzo at 206-465-9917. See the full report at www.wta.org.

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Arlington Kids' Kloset provided 1,153 outfits to needy students during the 2009 to 2010 school year.

Co-director Linda Dussault says the need is great again.

To help, "A Taste of Washington" fundraiser is planned for 6 p.m. Saturday at an Arlington home.

Planned are food, drinks, entertainment and an auction.

Tickets are $35. For more information, call 360-435-4875.

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Leave the driving to the Stillaguamish Senior Center during a bus trip to South Dakota.

The center offers a trip to Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer State Park.

And something many seniors enjoy -- a stop at a Deadwood casino.

The nine-day trip costs $799 per person and you leave a year from now, Sept. 10, 2011.

For more information, call 360-653-4551.

Kristi O'Harran: 425-339-3451; oharran@heraldnet.com.