‘It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year’

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Lions lion ears were a hit.

“I’ve been waiting for these,” a customer said, as she sat down at the picnic table. 

Lion ears are fry bread liberally sprinkled with butter, sugar and cinnamon, traditionally known as elephant ears – but in this case sold by the Lions Club. So they’re lion ears.  

“Mom used to make fry bread,” another customer explained to her companion. 

Her companion remembered but insisted he’d never had an elephant (or lion) ear. The lady was skeptical – he rodeoed for 30 years, she said. Of course he’d had an elephant ear. 

Lion ears, Spaceburgers, tater dogs, smoothies, tortas – a whole row of booths operated by service organizations provide selections that have become traditions and are moneymakers for the organizations that sell them. 

One longtime tradition was broken, however. A sign on the Block 40 booth said that circumstances prevented them from opening but insisted they would be back in 2025. Block 40 is known for its soft serve ice cream.  

Covenant Christian School took over sole operation of the smoothie booth for 2024, and CCS Principal Alecia Stanley said it’s both a moneymaker and a way to bring attention to the school.  

“It’s a great way for us to connect with the public,” Stanley said. 

The school has been in operation for 19 years, she said, and there are people who weren’t aware of its existence. 

“We’ve had a lot of people come to the booth and say, ‘Oh, where are you guys?’” Stanley said.  

The smoothie booth is relatively new, but some nonprofits have been around for decades. 

“We’ve been here 30 years or more,” said Ron Shade, who was running the cash register for the Moses Lake Lions. “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year.” 

Some booths have come and gone; the Moses Lake Eagles used to be famous for breakfast, but their booth is no more. Others are relative newcomers, but they’ve made their mark. Tater dogs are a specialty at the Youth Dynamics booth. A tater dog is a potato with its center removed and a German sausage added. 

There’s an investment, even for a nonprofit. Stanley estimated CCS had about $5,000 in supplies and maintenance on the booth equipment. The older the booth the older the equipment, at least in some cases, and maintenance can be a challenge.  

“We’ve had to put a lot of money into our ice machine,” said Linda Ebberson, working the Ephrata Lions booth early Thursday afternoon. “Big money. But it’s worth fixing.” 

If an ice machine can be legendary, that one is – it produces a unique shaved ice and dates back to the construction of Grand Coulee Dam. The Ephrata Lions sell hamburgers and hot dogs, but customers also stop by for a cup of ice.  

Despite the vintage equipment and the never-ending search for volunteers, a week at the fair does provide a good profit for the service organizations and clubs. Ron Shade, running the cash register at the Moses Lake Lions booth, said 2024 has been a good year.  

“(Wednesday) we set an all-time high for sales,” Shade said.  

It’s been a good year for the Ephrata Lions and the youth group from Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church. The crew at the youth group booth didn’t have an estimate yet, but sales were good, they said. The booth made enough money in 2023 to send 15 youth group members to a church-sponsored retreat.  

Temperatures have been mild, crowds have been bigger, admission is free Tuesday and part of Wednesday and Thursday, Ebberson said. That has helped make it a good year. 

“This year we will be well above what we did last year,” she said. 

    Jessica Moore prepares dough for the lion ears in the Moses Lake Lions booth at the Grant County Fair on Thursday.

  

    Julian Campos heats up tortillas in the booth operated by Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church as a fundraising project.
  

    Linda Ebberson keeps track of the sales and inventory at the Ephrata Lions booth at the Grant County Fair on Thursday.