This past weekend I went to the Mason County Fair in Shelton. It was actually a lot of fun this year, since I knew several of the families entering things in the fair.  The weather was great which made it all the more enjoyable.  The children really seem to enjoy this fair, despite all the work that goes into preparing for it and being required to take on duties in the barn areas.  Two good friends of mine won the top prizes for their pigs, which is especially commendable considering this is their first year raising pigs.



Here is Yutaka, with his Grand Champion pig, getting ready to auction it off in the livestock auction.  It brought the highest price in the auction.  The auction was a lot of fun.  Everyone seemed to really get into the spirit of it and the bidders (mostly Del's Farm Supply and Les Schwab Tires) were very generous in their support of the efforts of these children to raise money from their animals.  I was impressed with these two companies and others who are trying to give something back to the communities in which they are located.



Another winner was Lexi with her Champion prize-winning chickens, which are very handsome indeed as you can see.  She auctioned them off for a good price as well.  Les Schwab Tires got the winning bid on these fryers.

Aside from showing animals and winning prizes, the best part of the fair was just hanging out at the fairgrounds with other people and finding fun things to do.  I spent a little time with Megumi running and jumping in this nearby pile of wood chips.  It was loads of fun until we started itching quite a bit.



Another fun thing for the children was the Let's Pretend circus, where volunteers got to wear costumes and put on a make-believe circus, complete with a strong man (who couldn't quite lift the 1000 pound barbell, but a little girl did), and a lion tamer.



Here you can see the ferocious lion, played by Yutaka, ready to attack the audience if they didn't stay back.  Yutaka took this pretty seriously and made a very convincing lion.  I think he may have a future on the stage, at least as long as the part calls for a wild animal.  I thought the Let's Pretend shows were a great way for the children to enjoy being a part of something at the fair and use their imagination to put on a little show of their own.  I was pleased that they had that this year.  I'm not sure if I've noticed it before.

Tags: weekends
Current Location: Shelton, WA