The Winner

Day 335: I have now worked two shifts for the Park at this year's Washington State Fair (three more to go), and as always, I've gone in early to snap photos before the crowds arrive. Much to my dismay, I have come away with very little worth sharing. If that seems odd to you, it also puzzled me until I realized that my enthusiasm for the Fair has dwindled in parallel with the reduction in the number of agricultural exhibits.

The Grange displays were rehoused last year, and at the time, I thought it was an improvement. However, many of them are nearly identical to those seen last year and the year before or even a decade ago with little or no innovation. The building is still poorly lit, if not quite as badly as in 2014 when the produce was relegated to the darkest wall of the Showplex building. A new Agricultural Building has been constructed, but it seems only destined to hold dairy cows. Perhaps that means the old dairy barns will be torn down to make way for another building full of glitzy jewelry, vacuum cleaners, leather goods, chamois cloths and strange devices guaranteed to stimulate your (fill in the blank) or cleanse your system of negative energies.

Another significant decline was evident in the Pavilion's home arts area. No canned goods were on display, the showcases standing empty. Only one case of lacework was present, with small, poor samples of bobbin, tatting, crochet and knitting. Basketry was represented by a mere half-dozen pieces, and if any woven goods were shown, I missed them.

Poultry and rabbits still vie for space in the same dismal, dark barn, sharing it from time to time with other fowl. The horse barns (both 4-H and draft horses) were closed both days I attended, as was the goat barn. A few goats could be seen in "Animals of the World," along with half a dozen alpacas and a few sheep (the main sheep exhibit will be brought in later, and fortunately on one of my scheduled days). The cattle barns were only half full. Even a 1309-pound squash can't fill that void.