In its 147th year, the Clark County Fair still celebrates its agricultural roots with a strong FFA (Future Farmers of America) presence and traditional exhibits like canning, baking and quilt displays. It’s also one of the few fairs around where attendees can enjoy live concerts, monster trucks and rodeo during its 10-day run.
For those reasons and more, the Clark County Fair has been ranked by Livability.com as one of the 10 best summer fairs in the nation, and keeping it local could be the secret behind its success.
While ticketholders will see national advertisers like Sleep Country USA, Coca Cola and Dish Network, fair organizers have a big heart for local businesses, vendors and nonprofit organizations.
“We’re considered the number one fair in Washington State and it’s not necessarily because we’re the biggest or the newest,” said Matt Ferris, the fair’s director of marketing. “I think a lot of it has to do with the level of dedication and, for lack of a better word, the love that Clark County has for this fair.”
Reciprocating that love, Ferris recently reached out to Green Sweep Asphalt Service to conduct a $30,000 repaving project in the small animal barn. Owners Brandon and Jennifer Akerill were born and raised in Clark County, attended local schools and frequented the fair growing up. As a result of a 50 percent sponsorship trade, the fair is able to advertise Green Sweep’s services to its community on a wide scale.
Many of the food vendors seen at the fair are also local, such as the nine or so booths run by Betty Bowman, former owner of Boppin Bo’s; Food 4 You, which sources ingredients from local farmers; Greek Cuisina, which no longer exists in downtown Portland but can be enjoyed at the fairgrounds; and the Clark County Dairy Women who, Ferris joked, “put liquid gold in those milkshakes.”
People’s Community Federal Credit Union – with roots in Clark County dating back to its inception in 1952 – sponsors the package handling service that allows visitors to avoid the trek back to the car by keeping items like the quintessential stuffed bear won along the midway close at hand.
Another local financial institution, Riverview Community Bank, sponsors the Clark County Fair Court. Support from this community-minded organization allows the equestrian court to focus their efforts on raising money for area causes such as the nearly $4,000 it was able to donate to the YWCA.
According to Ferris, the majority of the more than 150 nonprofit organizations represented at the fair are also local, including the food booth for the Ridgefield Lions Club, the pie ladies from Southridge Community of Christ Church, the baked potato treats at Job’s Daughters Irish Sundae and the Clark County chapter of the American Red Cross, which serves up education and outreach for their disaster relief and humanitarian efforts.
“Our fair is one of the last bastions of agricultural education there is in the area,” Ferris said. “Our fair remains a resource for youth and people who haven’t been exposed to where milk comes from or how do bees make honey and what does that look like.”
This year’s adult admission of $11 will get fairgoers access to all that lies beyond the gates: grandstand seating for concerts, motocross and bull riding; free pancake breakfasts; 4-H and FFA events and exhibits; all the action along the midway; and a variety of entertainment acts scheduled every hour throughout the fairgrounds.
The 2015 Clark County Fair runs August 7-16.
