Spring Fair, sun attract crowds

MOSES LAKE — Sunny weather drew people out for the annual Spring Fair and Home Show at the Grant County Fairgrounds.

Fairgrounds Manager Bill West said there was a larger attendance compared to last year, when it snowed during spring fair.

“We got a lot nicer crowd,” he said. “I do think our vendor count is down from last year.”

Inside the commercial building, about 20 vendors sold everything from Girl Scout Cookies to resort timeshares.

Donna Marshall, the marketing manager for Great Links Resorts, said business was not too bad. She was selling time shares for the Great Links Resort at Desert Canyon.

This was Marshall’s first time in Moses Lake and said she really liked the area. Her company recently purchased Moses Pointe resort.

“It was a little slow this morning,” she said.

This was Brian White’s first spring fair after starting up his lawn care company, Curb Appeal.

“I think the weather’s getting better and people are starting to come outside,” he said. “I think a lot of people are looking.”

Moses Lake resident Mark Heilman said he attends the Spring Fair nearly every year. He and his 8-year-old daughter Skey enjoyed the sunshine.

“I remember a couple years were real cold, so the weather’s really nice, to say the least,” he said. “Mostly we come here for the rides.”

Stacey Daniels, of Moses Lake, runs the Momma D’s Espresso stand at the fair. She said sales were “pretty good” and commented on the nice weather.

“It’s nice,” she said. “We met a lot of nice people here.”

Daniels treated three of her daughters to face painting at the Vivid Imaginations booth Sunday.

Breana, 10, Kamiree, 9, and Halleaka, 7, chose their favorite designs and artist Lorraine Mason went to work.

“It’s so much fun, working with kids,” Mason said.

The Spaceburgers from the Moses Lake Lioness booth is one of Mason’s favorite things about the fairs in Moses Lake.

“Moses Lake is famous for Spacebugers, so I had to try them and I was hooked,” she said.

Moses Lake Lioness member Carol Schimke said sales were up compared to last year, when they had to close their booth due to snow.

Schimke, who has been a Lioness member for about 10 years, said she enjoys the people at the fair and interacting with customers.

“It’s just fun working with each other in the booth,” she noted.

In the pens, 4-H and Future Farmers of America members were cleaning stalls. The North Central Washington Junior Livestock Show ran from Thursday until Saturday. The auction was on Saturday.

This was the first spring show Cade Wallace had come to, he said. His steer received fifth in prospect and third in fit in show.

“I’ve liked it,” he said.

Fair Board Member Hal Gruver said it would be hard to miss having a higher attendance than last year, but he did speak with the people at Davis Carnival and they said they had a higher attendance then two years ago.

“We still need more activities,” he said. “It’s a free event. There isn’t a lot of budget for those things. We need some community based events.”

Gruver said with the economy being in the shape it’s in, a lot of people are showing up at free events, but they aren’t buying.

“It’ll change though,” he said. “I can remember in the 70s when the economy was bad and it was all gloom and doom. Then it went the other way.”