Spring Fair kicks off events season

Free admission, parking for diverse weekend activities

MOSES LAKE — Let it be known henceforth: Spring has sprung.

Or it will have sprung later this week, when the ninth annual Spring Fair and Home Show hits the Grant County Fairgrounds.

The event starts with its sister event, the North Central Junior Livestock Show, beginning with animal load-in Thursday evening. Animal activities start Friday morning and commercial vendors, food, the Davis Shows Northwest Carnival and the Renewable Energy Pavilion all begin at 1 p.m.

"Spring Fair/Home Show grew out of the junior livestock show and the fair board trying to add some more activities," said Grant County Fairgrounds fair and facilities manager Al Holman. "Actually, originally starting out, its backbone theme was more of a sportsman show. Over time, that kind of changed."

In general, the fair and home show is supposed to fall during spring break, during the last week in March or the first week in April.

"It's the kick off to the event season in the Columbia Basin," Holman said. "It's become, in the ninth year, a traditional start to the activities here in the Basin."

The Junior Livestock Show does not have the traditional offerings at the County Fair, instead offering only beef, swine and sheep, Holman said.

"One of the coolest things I like about that particular event and what they do during the junior show is, on Saturday morning they have a meat judging," he said, explaining that FFA and 4-H participants have to look at a cut of meat and identify what it is. It makes for a different event than having an animal standing there that the youth can go up and touch, Holman said.

"This is a little bit different," he said. "I've looked at the meat sometimes and gone, 'Wow, that's not what I thought it was.' But the kids do very well."

Other attractions and events include the Pirate's Parrot Showboat, lawn mower racing, entertainment with a Hispanic flair on Sunday provided by the Zorro Radio Network, a dutch oven demonstration and tasting, seminars sponsored by Chinook Lumber and the Columbia Basin Home Builders Association on home improvement ideas and products, the Western Barrel Racing Classic, a dog show demonstration and a stallion show.

It bears repeating that the Ardell Pavilion now has functional restrooms, putting bathrooms closer to the activities for people, instead of walking what Holman called "a football field and a half away.

"We have horse shows that have left us over the last couple of years that are calling us now and saying, 'Did you really put bathrooms on that building?'" he shared. "We say yes and then they say, 'Well, let's talk about coming back.'"

The event is free admission and free parking.

"The fair board's tried to keep this particular event free," Holman explained.

Unlimited ride arm bands for the Davis Shows NW Carnival cost $15.

"That's got to be a tough business to be in this year," Holman said. "Carnivals run on diesel. We think about the truckers all the time and there's a small amount of inflation that's starting to creep into some of the prices, but just think if your whole thing was based on diesel. If your movement from one place to another, operation of your rides, everything ran on diesel."

Holman said unlimited ride prices are up slightly from last year as a result, and may also be for the fair later in the summer, although he said there are plans to meet with Davis more towards June.

"We don't want to increase it, but let's be honest," he said. "If the carnival doesn't at least break even, they won't be back and this is one of the best shows in the whole Northwest."

To prepare for the fair, water was turned on in the major part of the fairgrounds last week, as well as lined up for vendors and set up tents.

Holman said about 10,000 people participate in the Spring Fair activities, and that number fluctuates according to the weather.

"It's the diversity of activities for one," he said of reasons why people should attend. "You can come around, see the Pirate Parrot Show, go to the carnival, got to the dutch oven on Saturday. Sunday you can come in and watch barrel racing, see the Hispanic entertainment, the bird guy's still here, still got the carnival, still got the vendors … There's a lot of really diverse activities and it's a nice chance to kind of get out and start the activities season."