After tough week, crowds rally to county fair for final hurrah

Turnout at the 2017 Spokane County Interstate Fair may have lagged in its initial week, but the crowds that descended on the event over the weekend seemed determined to make up for lost time with one final, triumphant hurrah.

Dean Markham, who, along with his two sons, got to the fair early Sunday to beat the lines, said they made the trek out when they saw their window of opportunity closing. “We hadn’t made it yet, and we figured, it’s now or never,” he said. “It’s not like we were going to miss the fair.”

He was one of tens of thousands who converged to ride the coasters, cheer performing sea lions and pet the miniature pigs. Crowds milled shoulder to shoulder in places, and lines stretched from favorite rides as attendees defied cloudy skies, cool temperatures and a difficult week to claim their share of the carnival’s joys.

“Our numbers Saturday were some of the best we’ve ever had,” said Rich Hartzell, director of the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, speaking by phone Sunday. “The only data I remember exceeding it was an ‘all free’ day we held several years ago.”

The opening days of the fair were marred by record-low air quality as wildfire smoke, trapped beneath a high pressure system, hung stubbornly over the region. Readings by the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency fluctuated between “unhealthy” and “very unhealthy” on a 500-point scale. The day before the fair opened, Spokane set a record for worst air quality over a 24-hour period.

Then came the news of tragic violence Wednesday at Freeman High School. In the wake of the local school shooting, shock and sadness seemed to reach into every corner of the city.

But the community of Freeman proved its resilience as the school and its supporters turned out for a show of solidarity at the Scotties’ football game Friday night. And that resilience was on display again this weekend at the county fair, Hartzell said.

“Obviously, we understand that the community’s been dealing with a lot – that maybe they weren’t in a mood to go out and celebrate” earlier in the week, he said. “But I think this weekend’s been a chance for people to get out and maybe make a few good memories.”

One group has been steadfast in their attendance, of course: the vendors, conductors and performers who see the fair through.

As bees milled behind panes of glass, apiarist Pat Ayers was all smiles, but she said she was ready for a little relief. “My girls and I have been here every day,” she said, nodding toward an upright display of sectioned honeycomb, where bees huddled around their queen – keeping her warm, Ayers said.

Ayers, who belongs to the Inland Empire Beekeeping Association, said her “girls” would make the journey home this evening with little fuss. “They know me,” she said. “They let me know how they’re feeling.”

Once the final crowds have dispersed, the grounds can be cleared with almost alarming rapidity, Hartzell said. “It’s amazing – we have hundreds of vendors in the buildings and outside, but by Tuesday you’ll wonder where everybody and everything went,” he said. “It goes down faster than it went up.”