Even after 150 years, fair still remembers its roots

On Oct. 21, 1868, a central square of public land near the “Clarke” County riverfront hosted a showcase of everything good about this remote, upper left-hand corner of the nation: games to play, good things to eat, livestock to admire — and the miraculously modern agricultural gadgetry that was helping make life a little easier for everyone.

The hosting Clark County Agricultural and Mechanical Society has come and gone, but that first-ever Clark County Fair in Esther Short Park set the pace for the next century and a half.

Everything has changed about county fairs since then — carnival rides and video games, rock bands and monster trucks, swimming dogs, free pancakes for early birds — and yet nothing much has changed. The Clark County Fair is still focused on local agricultural roots, and the theme for this year’s 150th anniversary celebration is “Farm, Fun and Family Traditions.”

Get ready for beauty-contest cows, horses, goats, llamas, sheep, pigeons, chickens, cats and dogs — as well as blue-ribbon cheeses and pies, canned meats, jarred fruits, dried herbs and bread baked with Washington state flour only.

The Agricultural and Mechanical Society had the right idea after that first outing, buying 28 nearby acres to host an event with an ever-changing name: the Harvest Show, the Columbia River Interstate Fair, the Clarke County Fair and Dahlia Show. (The “e” in Clarke, a strictly clerical error that lasted 75 years, was finally and legally deleted by Gov. Ronald Harley in 1925.) But the event itself kept migrating — back and forth between Esther Short Park and Bagley Downs, then up to what was going to be another permanent home in Battle Ground, except that World War II got in the way. “Victory Fairs” were held instead in Vancouver’s McLoughlin Heights, the site of densely populated ship-worker housing.

After the war, the fair relaunched in partnership with Battle Ground’s own local fair, then started looking for even bigger, better real estate. A decision was made to move to what’s now east Vancouver, on 40 acres offered by John McGillivray, but the local Grange’s opposition to horse racing and gambling drove the future fair north to a farm north of Vancouver — the kernel of the current location near Ridgefield. The first Clark County Fair was held there in 1955; since then, dozens of additional acres have been added to the site and dozens of structures have gone up — exhibition and livestock halls, food courts, an equestrian arena and a grandstand, and, of course, the separate amphitheater that’s shared the fairgrounds and brought top touring acts to the area (and incurred neighbors’ wrath) since 2003. Annual attendance at the Clark County Fair is now well over a quarter million visitors per year.

Midway parade

The touring acts headed for this year’s Clark County Fair are country hit-maker Gary Allan on Aug. 3; rocker Pat Benatar with guitarist Neil Giraldo on Aug. 4; classic rockers Grand Funk Railroad on Aug. 5; and country singer-songwriter Granger Smith on Aug. 6. Grandstand concerts are all at 7 p.m. and free with your paid fair admission; VIP reserved seating starts at $20 (and the Allan and Benatar VIP packages are sold out already).

When music isn’t happening at the grandstand, other thrilling entertainment is: mutton busting and bull riding on Aug. 7, freestyle motocross on Aug. 8, demolition derby on Aug. 9, Tuff Trucks on Aug. 10 and 11 and Monster Trucks on Aug. 12. These are set for 2 and 7 p.m. each day.

Meanwhile, some major exhibits and attractions are back — including the educational Brad’s World Reptiles, the astonishing sand-sculpting Sandscapes team, a completely self-contained Wild West Cowboy Boot Camp, and the athletic-aquatic Dock Dogs event, which features local pooches running, leaping, swimming and retrieving their way to prizes, national rankings and even possible invitation to the DockDogs National Championships.

There are a couple of new carnival rides this year: the Monkey Maze Funhouse, a jungle of mirrors and tricks; and the 90-foot tall, free-falling Super Shot Drop Tower.

Stroll the midway and you’ll meet a wandering magician, clown, juggler, one-man band and the walking Harbor Patrol Jazz Band. Head over to The Columbian stage at 10 a.m. Aug. 5 and 6 to catch the Washington State Fiddle Championships.

And, here’s something that only happens once in 150 years: an anniversary parade will march up the midway at 1:50 p.m. opening day — that’s Aug 3.