BBQ chicken, cotton candy top fair food faves list
George Juarez, of Othello, serves up French fries at the Rotary Booth Wednesday at the Adams County Fair. The Rotarians' barbecue chicken is considered a local highlight of the fair.
OTHELLO - One of the culinary highlight of the Adams County Fair is the barbecue chicken sold at Othello's Rotary booth.
Othello Police Chief and current Rotary President Steve Dunnagan said that fairgoers easily devour 1,500 chickens throughout fair week.
And that's a lot of birds.
"It's a tradition at the fair, our barbecue chicken," he said. "A lot of people come here just for it."
Even after the gates of the 2012 Adams County Fair opened Wednesday morning, not a few hours passed before Rotary crews were serving chicken, scooping fries, and keeping the hundreds of competing youth and their families well-fed and hydrated.
"A lot of people come from the surrounding areas. It's a good local fair, and it's a good venue for people just to come, talk and visit," Dunnagan said. "This is the end of the fall time, so everybody's starting to unwind a little bit."
The civic organization uses money raised at the booth for local scholarships, including the Red Reese Scholarship that's awarded to an Othello High School senior each year.
Money also goes to "basically, whatever the community needs. We're always looking for updated projects," Dunnagan said.
Most recently the group invested in the Othello Food Bank remodel and helped replace the roof on the museum.
They're also looking to create a "pocket park" somewhere in the city, he said.
Just across the way, long-time Othello resident Bill Bethmann was whipping up batch after batch of fluffy cotton candy at the Lion's booth.
"I've been a Lion for 45 years, and I think I've been at the fair each year," he said while scooping spun sugar into individual bags. "It's a fun time, and we make a little money and do a little good with it."
One of the Lions' goals worldwide is to fight blindness. Locally, they help support the community.
The booth hawked pizza, popcorn, French fries and soda pop, all while helping raise the $4,500 the group usually gives out annually, Bethmann said.
Just around the corner, Lori Taff was busy setting up the menu for a gourmet hot dog booth that benefits Mid-Columbia Young Life, a non-profit faith-based organization.
"We want to meet kids where they're at and share the love of Christ with them," she said.
The group currently works with middle school students in the Othello and Connell areas, and would like to expand into high school territory, she said.
That translates into more volunteers, which the group is lacking.
The hot dogs are new this year after the organization served pork rib dinners last year.
Taff said that, with all the food booths around, dishes are often as big as a meal.
"But we want people to come here all the time," she said. "This is something smaller with a lower price point that they can have two or three times over the week."
Funds raised through sales go toward the group, which sends students to camp every summer, feeds them at group meetings and pay salaries for the few people on payroll.