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Local flair in the best li’l fair

Published 9:00 pm Friday, August 3, 2001

By Marcie Miller / Herald Writer

Stanwood-Camano event educates kids and public

By Marcie Miller

Herald Writer

STANWOOD — If you’re not careful, you just might learn something at the Stanwood-Camano Community Fair this weekend.

Oh sure, the carnival, or the food or the musical acts might be distracting, but look closer and you’ll see the fruits of the labor more than 750 kids have put into learning about their animals and hobbies.

The four goals of the fair, which bills itself as "The Best Li’l Fair in the West," are proudly displayed next to the performing stage.

No. 1: To educate. Posters made by 4-H kids line the walls of the barns where their animals wait their turn to be judged.

"Each piglet returns to the same udder whenever it feeds."

"Pig Math: Dry bed plus good food and lots of water equals happy pig!"

Livestock supervisor Margaret Olson is also an agriculture teacher at Stanwood High School. She said educating fairgoers is more important than ever, as Snohomish and Island counties are not the agricultural areas they once were.

Before you go

  • Gates to the Stanwood-Camano Community Fair open daily at 9 a.m. The fair runs today through Sunday at the Stanwood-Camano Fairgrounds, 64th Avenue NW and Pioneer Highway in Stanwood.

  • Admission is $6 adults, $3 children and seniors, children 5 and younger free.

  • Limited parking is available near the fairgrounds. There is free parking at Stanwood High School, with a free shuttle to the fair every 15 minutes from 9 a.m. to midnight today and until 6 p.m. Sunday.

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    As well as the ubiquitous posters, exhibitors put on displays and answer any and all questions. 4-H kids in the cattle barn wear T-shirts with "Ask me" printed on the back.

    At the "Farmer for a Day" area, young fairgoers are directed to grab a basket and gather plastic eggs, apples and potatoes A sign reminds them, "All food at the grocery was grown on a farm."

    Goal No. 2: Showcase accomplishments of citizens. Tidy jars of home-canned fruits and intricate quilts adorn the exhibition hall.

    Ribbons hang from pens and walls in the animal barns, rewards for the efforts of the 4-H clubs.

    Sunny Moyer, 14, was showing her pig Nezzie for the first time Friday.

    "It’s nerve-wracking when they don’t do what you want them to do," she said with a shudder. Nezzie had a large Champion Fitting and Showing ribbon hanging over her pen when it was all over.

    "Save a salmon — eat beef!" exhorts a poster in the cattle barn, while another notes, "It takes 25 pounds of grain daily to finish a steer."

    Heather Foster, 13, was scooping up after her cow Freckles, a Hereford and Scottish Highland cross beef cow with curly beige hair.

    "It’s a lot of fun," Heather said of 4-H. "You learn about animals and how to take responsibility."

    In addition to daily feeding and watering, Heather has to train her cow to wear a halter and behave in the show ring. And then there’s the constant brushing to keep Freckle’s coat free of sawdust shavings.

    Goal No. 3: Provide entertainment. Proving that education can also be entertaining, The Pirate’s Parrot Show gives fairgoers a close-up look at more than a dozen varieties of parrots. A staple of the Stanwood fair since 1997, the group works to entertain while educating people about the plight of parrots and other endangered animals. Look for the pirate ship near the front entrance.

    Goal No. 4: To challenge our youth to learn more about agriculture. See all of the above.

    You can call Herald Writer Marcie Miller at 425-339-3292

    or send e-mail to reardon@heraldnet.com.

    MICHAEL O’LEARY / The Herald

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