PORT ANGELES — Zoey VanGordon has been exhibiting at the Clallam County Fair since she was 5. This year, she’s bringing along Beth, Gator, Rip, Walker and Teeter to help add to her collection of ribbons and rosettes.
VanGordon, 17, is showing the five hogs, who are named after characters in the television series “Yellowstone,” as a member of the East Clallam Livestock 4-H Club, one of the many youth career, developmental and agricultural organizations participating in the fair, which runs today through Sunday.
Today is kids day, when entry for those ages 6 to 12 is free. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Kid Zone will have free activities like a photo booth, obstacle course and bouncy house and ball pit.
Strait Up Foam Fun will offer miniature golf and an escape room for a fee.
Featured at the grandstand will be a 4-H western games show at 12:30 p.m. today, Northwest Professional Rodeo Association competitions at 6 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday, a draft horse exhibition at 1 p.m. on Saturday, a pro logging show at 11 a.m. on Sunday, and a demolition derby at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
All grandstand events except the demolition derby are free with admission to the fair.
Demolition derby tickets are $20 and can be purchased starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday; admission to the fair must be purchased separately.
Entertainment on the Wilder Auto Community and Sunny Farms Center stages will begin with the opening ceremony at 10 a.m. and run almost continuously through the fair’s four-day run.
Along with local favorites like Bread & Gravy and Black Diamond Junction, there will be Steely Dan and Journey tribute bands and many other musical performances.
The farm family of the year will be announced at 6 p.m. Thursday on the Sunny Farms Center Stage.
Demonstrations of everything from antique farm equipment to beekeeping to floral design to fly tying will be held throughout the fair. 4-H and FFA members will hold demonstrations and compete all four days as well.
The Pacific Northwest Junior Livestock Auction at noon on Saturday will be an opportunity for 4-H and FFA competitors to show off the animals they have raised and earn money back on the work they have put into raising their hogs, sheep, goats, steers, turkeys, chickens and rabbits.
Grady and Graysen Pinell, 14-year-old twins from Sequim, plan to save the money they earn from the sale of turkeys Domino and Drumstick toward buying a car.
Grady said turkeys are a good investment.
“They are cheap to buy, and they grow fast,” he said.
A $15 turkey chick can sell a few months later at the auction for as much as $600. (Bidders at the fair are notoriously generous.)
Not all of VanGordon’s hogs will go to market. She purchased Teeter, a talkative Berkshire sow, for breeding and showing.
The Port Angeles High School senior would like to attend college and become a large animal veterinarian. Her experience raising hogs, being in 4-H and competing have prepared her well for what comes next, she said.
But first, the fair, which is what she looks forward to every year.
“I love the blue ribbons and the rosettes, but this feels like my home,” she said.
For more information, the fair’s website can be found here and a map of the fairgrounds and parking can be found here.
Single day/four-day passes:
Adults, 18 and older $10/$30
Seniors, 80 and older free
Seniors, 65-79 $8/$24
Students, 13-17 $8/$24
Youth, 6-12 $7/$15
Youth, 6-12 Thursday, Kids Day, free
Active military/veteran (w/ID) $7/$21
Children, 5 and younger free
Hours
Thursday, Friday and Saturday
Gates open 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Buildings open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Carnival open noon to 10 p.m.
Sunday
Gates open 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Buildings open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Carnival open noon to 7 p.m.
Parking is free except for the reserved lot.
Carnival ride wristbands for $45 can be purchased at the carnival ticket office located in the carnival area. Wristbands are valid for one day only and do not include admission to the fair.
Grandstand Events (included in fair admission, except demolition derby)
4-H Western Games, 12:30 p.m. Thursday
Draft horse exhibition, 1 p.m. Friday
Pro Logging Show, 11 a.m. Saturday
Rodeo, 6 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday
Demolition Derby
Tickets are $20 and go on sale at 9 a.m. Sunday. Purchase tickets at the tent located south of the yellow (west) gate and next to Lincoln Park BMX. Ticket holders also must purchase fair admission.
Beer garden
A beer garden serving alcohol operated by the Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts will open to fair visitors one hour before the rodeos on Friday and Saturday, and close one hour after they are over. The beer garden also will operate on Sunday during the demolition derby. However, only demolition derby ticket holders can gain entry.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
