The region’s biggest fair returns Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 10, for families to enjoy agriculture, animals, entertainment, games, rides and food as the annual Clark County Fair opens for its 155th year.
As the Budweiser Clydesdales are on their tour across the states, the Clark County Fair will be the host of the horse spectacle for almost an entire week, with viewing beginning Tuesday, Aug. 5 during the Fair’s Military Appreciation Day and continuing shows, appearances and various times for public viewing at the fair from Aug. 6 through Aug. 10.
The fair located at 17402 NE Delfel Road, Ridgefield, is from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday, Aug. 2; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, through Thursday, Aug. 7; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8, and Saturday, Aug. 9; and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10.
Rides open at noon daily with Butler Amusements packing in three new rides this year, Clark County Fair Manager John Morrison said. The fair is also promoting new entertainment, including barnyard races, a comedy hypnotist named Tyzen, and a breakdancing group.
Returning this year, a Fred Meyer store coupon will give people free entry on opening day. People can also skip parking costs by utilizing C-TRAN’s bus service to the fairgrounds.
“I look forward to offering something that people have not seen before,” Morrison said. “That’s one of the things that I really concentrate on is when the fair comes on, people can come and see something that’s not just like every year where they say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re not going to the same old fair all the time.’”
This year’s featured exhibit will be “Ice Age Adventures.” The featured exhibit will cater to children aged 6 to 12, Morrison added.
The opening day parade returns and will take place at 2 p.m. on the main midway.
The grandstand concerts this year kick off at 7 p.m., beginning with Brothers Osborne on opening day, George Thorogood on Saturday, Aug. 2, and Kansas on Sunday, Aug. 3.
The Washington State Fiddle Championships will take place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, and Sunday, Aug. 3, on the Community Stage.
The fair will also feature several eating contests. A watermelon-eating contest is slated for Saturday, Aug. 2. There will also be a hot dog-eating contest on Sunday, Aug. 3; a donut-eating contest on Friday, Aug. 8; a cheeseburger-eating contest on Saturday, Aug. 9; and a pie-eating contest will conclude the contests on Sunday, Aug. 10. Registration for each of the contests is at 12:30 p.m. at the stage.
Sticking to its roots, agriculture events and animal showings are scheduled throughout the week. The featured agricultural exhibit this year will focus on blueberries.
“Agriculture in Clark County is shrinking every year, whether it’s farm size, farm numbers, but I will tell you that every year, by the state Department of Agriculture, I’ll use the word required to present what we call a featured ag exhibit,” Morrison said.
Morrison added that he is a huge proponent of agriculture education for the fair, especially being one of four 10-day-long fairs in the state.
“The idea is to educate the public on what is important in Clark County and agriculture that you might not realize,” Morrison said.
On Monday, Aug. 4 the mutton bustin’ contest will take place at 2 p.m. at the grandstand. The bull-riding portion of the rodeo is scheduled at 7 p.m.
At 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5, the mutton bustin’ contest returns for a second day, followed by the Hell on Hooves Rodeo at 7 p.m. at the grandstand.
At 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6, the demolition derby will take place at the grandstand.
At 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, the Side x Side racing and monster truck rides will take place at the grandstand.
The Tuff Trucks events will take place at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8, and Saturday, Aug. 9, at the grandstand.
Monster trucks will conclude the grandstand entertainment with events at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10.
For more information, including a daily schedule of all events, visit clarkcofair.com and/or download the app, Clark County Fair, in the Apple Store and Google Play store, for all information, schedules and locations of happenings at the fairgrounds.
