It seems like the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede comes just when we need it most.
With summer racing past and a school year racing toward us, with elections behind us and before us, with wildfires and Donald Trump dominating our headlines and demanding our time, we need the fair.
This annual event grounds us. It brings us home to what’s most important: our shared identity and our sense of community. It’s a time for us to play together, to be creative and to compete, as well as cheer for our neighbors. It’s a time for us to take comfort that we can still produce sustenance from the soil. All of it plays out at the Kitsap County Fair.
The theme of this year’s fair, Aug. 26-30, is “Hay! It’s Kitsap Fair & Stampede Time.” And indeed it is. Tens of thousands of people attend the annual fair and enjoy full days of excitement, entertainment and friendly competition.
The fair is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Carnival hours are longer. Xtreme Bulls competition is 7 p.m. Aug. 26. The PRCA Rodeo is 7 p.m. Aug. 27-29. The Destruction Derby begins at noon Aug. 30.
Season-pass tickets are available now at Kitsap Bank branches in Kitsap County. Unlimited ride bands are available at Burger King locations in Kitsap for $26. (We recommend riding the Zipper first, then indulging in that elephant ear.)
The fair’s stages will feature the best of local entertainment. On the Geico Local Office Stage immediately after the Xtreme Bulls competition, catch headliner The Marshall Tucker Band (“Can’t You See,” “Heard it in a Love Song”). The Southern-rock/country-rock group has had five gold albums and two platinum albums.
Once again, 4-H members will command the spotlight, as they deserve. Most 4-H’ers spend the year preparing for the fair, producing arts and crafts, preserving food, growing crops, honing their horseback riding and photography skills and spinning and weaving.
County fairs have always been showcases of our talents, our progress, our innovation. Don’t miss the county’s best this year.
Check out our fair guide in this week’s edition of Kitsap Weekly.
