Early Date Unflattering To Pumpkins

Wandering through the North Idaho Fair’s exhibit halls, some may wonder, “Where have all the 300-pound pumpkins gone?”

Is global warming turning these once-proud giants into runts? Are they being killed off by disease? Are Kootenai County’s gardeners just not growing ‘em like they used to?

Conspiracy theories aside, the answer is simple. When three years ago fair officials moved the celebration up a couple weeks to its current timeslot in late August, they realized there would be a tradeoff. While the pumpkins - which need a few extra weeks to mature into the behemoths of yesteryear - are a little smaller and the tomatoes a little greener, fairgoers are now treated to vegetables like peas in their prime, cucumbers on the verge of perfection, and zucchini that have no rivals. All of these prize vegetables and more will be on display in the Horticulture building.

And that’s not all. Scattered throughout exhibit buildings this year will be a wide array of handcrafts, professional quality art, model airplanes, and commercial displays - everything you’d expect from the North Idaho Fair to slice and dice up plenty of family fun.

After a smaller fruit crop last year because of the cold early-summer weather, fair superintendent Ceceline Simpson is confident this year’s entries should be some of the best ever.

“This year we should have a good crop of fruit and everything else,” Simpson said, explaining that the produce competition is limited to local gardening aficionados whose backyard crops rival fruit produced by the big orchards. “People love to come down and see blue ribbons on their things.”

Simpson said of the fruits, vegetables, and flowers affected by time and the weather, berries wither the quickest - folks should hurry in early to check out what is expected to be a bumper crop of raspberries, blackberries and huckleberries.

Area quilters will proudly display their art-quality creations in the Home Arts building, just north of the fair office. The quilts, displayed in full length, will provide the backdrops for the hundreds of other smaller sewing entries.

Just next door, in the Arts and Crafts building, porcelain and china antique reproductions, mop dolls and their corn husk relatives will be displayed just down the way from dried flower arrangements and a cornucopia of handcrafted baskets. Check out the ones you like - you’ve got another 360 days or so to make your own for next year’s fair.

In place of last year’s “Fresh on Friday,” a competition designed to keep produce and flowers fresh for later fairgoers, fair organizers have instead created two divisions for flower entries, one beginning the first day of the fair and the second starting on Friday.

This way, the glorious dahlias, bright mums and brilliant begonias will be at their best throughout the fair. Grand prizes will be given for both divisions, and winners will carry off gift certificates for Tidyman’s Supermarkets.

This year in the Commercial Building, located near North Midway, a number of local community groups and political organizations will be providing information for passersby.

Fair official Midge Kristian said these groups - political parties, the League of Women Voters, Kootenai County Stockmen and Stockwomen, a number of granges from Kootenai and Shoshone County, Campfire, Girl Scouts, and others - not only serve a valuable role in educating fairgoers, but they serve as a focal point for a dynamic community.

Officials from these organizations will be on hand throughout the fair to answer questions and engage folks in discussion concerning life in North Idaho.

Other commercial displays include the traditional fair businesses, including hot tub manufacturers, wood stove makers and local landscapers with tips on how to spruce up your home and yard.