STANWOOD — The annual Stanwood-Camano Fair, filled with music, animals, carnival rides and locally made treats, is under way for the weekend.
The fair draws between 12,000 and 15,000 visitors each year, organizers say. It’s been in the same location, 6431 Pioneer Highway, for eight decades. The Stillaguamish Grange started the event as a harvest festival, then turned it over to a nonprofit with an elected board of directors in the 1960s. The fair now is planned and operated by more than 300 volunteers.
This year’s activities start Friday and continue through Sunday. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and children between 6 and 17 years old, and free for children 5 years old or younger. Fair hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with some music and the carnival continuing later into the night, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Entertainment options include live music from local bands, choirs and dancers. The Stanwood High School Band is set to take the stage, as is Voices of the Village, a music group under the nonprofit Village Community Services.
Spike and the Impalers is headlining on Saturday evening. This is the first year the Seattle band, which performs around the area, has been at the fair. It’s an exciting addition, fair board member Kevin Plambeck said.
Plambeck’s advice for fair-goers is to “get here early and stay late,” he said. “If you look at the entertainment, it’s everything from a hypnotist to country western,” as well as Polynesian dancing, rock’n’roll and Irish ditties.
Aside from carnival rides and food, there is no extra charge for shows, exhibits or activities.
Animals shown at the fair include horses, cows, pigs, goats, llamas, dogs, birds, rabbits and guinea pigs. There’s also contests for Lego building, lip-syncing and animal costumes.
“We’re a community fair so you’re not going to see a lot of asphalt,” Plambeck said. “You get to come walk on grass and sawdust.”
Among the traditions are a threshing demonstration, educational displays in old log cabins on the fairgrounds, and livestock and small animal judging that is open to all kids and teens, not just those in 4H or Future Farmers of America.
Parking is available near the fairgrounds and at the Stanwood High School stadium, where a free shuttle bus runs every 15 minutes during fair hours.
A complete schedule of events is available online at stanwoodcamanofair.org.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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