Are you ready for the biggest little week of the summer? I’m talking about the Southwest Washington Fair, which begins Tuesday at the fairgrounds in north Chehalis.
I’m looking forward to it, and not just because my wonderful niece Clara is finishing up her year as the living logo of the fair, Little Miss Friendly. (Although I must say, seeing her shine in that role has certainly been fun.)
There’s a lot to love about the Fair. It’s a tradition to attend and always a blast to see folks on the Midway and catch up. If you’re new to the area or for whatever reason you’ve never been, make sure you attend the Fair at least once. You’ll be glad you did.
The heart of the Fair might just be kids and their animals. It’s a true joy to stroll through the different barns, seeing the young folks and their furry/feathery friends. Time seems to have a different meaning in the barns. You feel it when you walk through. There is always something to do, whether feeding the animals or cleaning up after them, or giving them a bath, or showing them in one of the arenas.
The animal sales are always inspiring, as you see the culmination of months of work and a financial payoff as businesses and community members open up their wallets to buy the animals and support the young agriculturalists.
The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce has been highlighting these kids as they come by the chamber office to ask for support as they sell their Fair animals.
As of press time, they have welcomed 29 participants in the Junior Livestock Auction. The most recent is a young man, Brock Boone, who raises pigs. He will use the proceeds from the auction to help pay for his degree at Centralia College, where he is in the diesel tech program as a Running Start student.
Other visitors to the Chamber office have been selling turkeys, lambs, goats, heifers, steers and more. Their hard work and rural grit are part of what make Lewis County special. I love that the Fair preserves and encourages this spirit.
The Junior Livestock Sale will be Friday, Aug. 16, at 6 p.m. Learn more at southwestwashingtonfair.org/events/jr-livestock-sale/
I’ll be at the Fair’s opening ceremony on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Saloon Stage. Come by and say hello if you’re there.
See you at the Fair!
Founder’s Day
Congratulations to the good people of Centralia, and especially the energetic folks at the Centralia Downtown Association, for putting on their second-annual Founder’s Day celebration. It’s this Saturday, Aug. 10, at George Washington Park by the library. They’ll start with a 5K run at 9 a.m. through founder George Washington’s old homestead (which is most of the land from downtown Centralia to the Mellen Street exit). There’s a film at the Juice Box throughout the day, a graveside memorial at 2 p.m. at Washington Lawn Cemetery, and an event in the park at 3 p.m.
They’ll have giant bubbles for the kids, food vendors, lawn games, a pop-up museum inside the library and then Music in the Park at 6 p.m. with the Yelm band Grooveyard.
Speaking of museum pieces, the George & Mary Jane Washington Museum just received a notable gift: historical deeds with the signatures of town founders George and Mary Jane themselves.
These will be a new highlight of the museum, since there are actually very few items actually touched or owned by George and Mary Jane that are known to still exist. Adding to that short list is a big deal.
The CDA, which hosts the museum, is working with archivists on proper preservation and display of these artifacts. I look forward to seeing this living history in person someday soon.
Dad joke of the week (not weak)
The other day in Thorbecke’s I saw an employee vacuuming around the weight-lifting equipment. It made sense. With so many people getting shredded and ripped, there must be a lot of paper scraps to clean up. I didn’t see if they also had to buff the equipment. If so, I wonder if they use Brawny paper towels.
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Brian Mittge is excited to see some Bearcats this weekend at his 30th(!?) high school class reunion. He can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com or by searching the hashtag #OnChehalis.
