A front-row seat at the fair

‘She’s infatuated,” father Mick Vigoren says, looking down at his 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Chloe. “She just went on her first ride on the swings.”

Chloe sits transfixed in her stroller, her body leaning forward in the seat.

She is completely still, a single point of inactivity among the swirling chaos of the Friday night carnival midway. Children scurry by with balloons, laughing into the rapidly cooling night air. Bands of teenage boys and girls pass each other, exchanging furtive glances. A million lights flash and twinkle to the tune of carnival workers’ provoking pitches to “come play, come win!”

But Chloe does not move. She sits silent, mesmerized by the machine whose lights twinkle in her eyes. The Super Shot Drop Tower makes its slow climb into the sky. Riders’ feet dangle down as hands grip the heavy black restraints wrapping over their shoulders. Some dare look down. Others stare straight ahead.

The screams come with the drop. Hair flies straight up. The hands of the brave reach into the air. Joy mixes with terror as the riders plummet toward the ground. The machine suddenly slows. The impact never comes. The ring of happy faces settles gently to the ground. Young riders make a skipping exit, some running off to other corners of the fair, many hopping right back in line, tickets already in hand.

The tower once again begins its climb. Chloe remains unmoved, content to watch the drama unfold from her perfect front-row seat.

ANIMALS

Noon: Pygmy goats costume class.

2 p.m.: Pro-West rodeo with Skagit Riders Drill Team, Arena.

CONTESTS &

DEMONSTRATIONS

1 p.m.: Ice cream sundae construction contest, Snohomish County Agriculture Display.

4:30 p.m.: Frisbee-throwing contest, Judging Arena.

KIDS

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: 4-H story time, 4-H building.

FOOD

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Food turn-about day, 4-H building.