Volunteering at the fair can be a family affair

MOSES LAKE — The benches in the horticulture building at the Grant County Fair are filled with flowers, carefully matched with entries and ribbons. Of course, somebody has to do all the work of matching the ribbons to the right flowers. That was the work of the two sisters and their children sitting around a table piled with supplies. 

“We’re the Kalamakis crew,” said Hailey Everett, Spokane.  

The fair depends on volunteers, and a lot of the volunteers depend on networks of family and friends to help them. Steve and Cindy Kalamakis are the longtime superintendents for the horticulture building, and many years ago they recruited their children to help out. Their children have grown up, but they’re still pitching in at the fair. 

“We’ve been doing this since I was 10 (years of age). I’m 43,” Everett said.  

Volunteering is sometimes a family affair — volunteers enlist their children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews to help with setup and teardown, fetch and carry as needed, babysit a booth or building as required.  

Hailey Everett and her sister brought their daughters, who were part of the crowd around the table, adding ribbons to the jars of flowers.  

Alyiah Martinez and her sister were manning the Moses Lake Ice and Sno booth, selling ice cream and cold drinks — and doing a brisk business on a hot day. The sisters needed a summer job, Martinez said, both to make some money for themselves and to give some help to their parents. The ice cream company is experimenting with off-site sales, and the sisters have been working the booth throughout the summer, she said. 

Yasmine and Jerome Mueller were holding down the Block 40 ice cream booth Monday, testing to see that the cash register worked and cleaning away two years’ worth of dust. They were helping their dad Rich Mueller and their former 4-H club. Jerome Mueller said he and his sister no longer compete in 4-H, but working the booth is a way to help the participants now, just as people helped them. 

“I guess it’s a little bit of (work) experience, too,” he said. 

    Carter Harguinedguy helps hang the artwork in the arts and crafts building Monday. He was helping his grandmother, who is among the volunteers at the building.
  

    Members of the Kalamakis family work to get out exhibits at the horticulture barn at the Grant County Fair.