Do Puyallup’s State Spring Fair for a taste of the bigger fall fair

  • By Andrea Brown Herald Writer
  • Thursday, April 3, 2014 6:47pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

Racing pigs. Leaping dogs. Rides. Games. Buttery ears of corn the size of bowling pins.

Seriously. Do you need more reasons to go to the Washington State Spring Fair in Puyallup?

“You can learn about farming as well,” said fair spokeswoman Karen LaFlamme.

The four-day fair is April 10 through 13 at the fairgrounds about 60 miles south of Everett.

The grounds are the site of the big Washington State Fair, formerly known as the Puyallup Fair, held in September. The spring fair is less of the same.

“It’s a smaller footprint and it has more of a country fair feel to it,” LaFlamme said. “It is a family-friendly fair. There are lots of hands-on activities for kids to enjoy. MindWorks is brand new.”

Gardeners can admire displays and get tips from gardening expert Ciscoe Morris.

Vendors will offer up everything from crafts to food.

“The classics — scones and onion burgers, caramel apples and all that good stuff,” LaFlamme said.

There are rides for little kids to “6-feet-tall kids,” she said.

Of course, there are monster trucks and demolition derbies.

There are also some daredevil dogs. DockDogs features local and national dogs leaping off a dock doing long jumps, high jumps, swan dives and belly flops.

Andrea Brown; 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com.

If you go

The Spring Fair is at the Washington State Fair Events Center, 110 Ninth Ave. SW, Puyallup.

Hours are 2 to 10 p.m. April 10; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. April 11 and April 12; and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 13.

Tickets are $7.50 advance or $10 at the gate for adults and $5.50 advance or $8 at gate for ages 6 to 18. Kids 5 and under are free.

Parking is free in designated fair lots.

For tickets and more information, call the fair hotline at 253-841-5045 or go to www.thefair.com.

Special free days

Free Kids’ Day, April 10, for ages 18 and under: Bring a non-perishable item for the Puyallup Food Bank.

Military Appreciation Day, April 11: All active, retired and reserve military and their dependents, plus disabled vets, get in free with valid military ID.

Highlights

(free with fair admission unless otherwise specified)

Fireworks spectacular, choreographed to music, 9 p.m. April 11 and 12. Can be seen throughout the grounds.

MindWorks! Interactive Exhibit, with 36 interactive games for minds of all ages, daily. KidZone pavilion, first floor.

Puyallup School District’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Showcase, daily.

Pavilion, second floor.

AG-Ventureland, with activities including goat milking, bean play boxes and pony saddling. Inside Red Gate.

Livestock Show and Sale: Showing and judging April 10, 11 and 12. Sale 10 a.m. April 13. Barns N and P.

Monster truck show, 7:30 p.m. April 11, with pit party for truck show ticket holders to see the trucks up close and meet the drivers, 4 to 6 p.m. Grandstand infield. Tickets $9 to $31.

Monster truck rides, 2 to 6 p.m. April 11 and noon to 4 p.m. April 12, for $7 at grandstand infield.

Slamfest demolition derby, 7:30 p.m. April 12 and 4 p.m. April 13. Pit party for Slamfest ticket holders to see what’s left of the smashed up cars and meet the drivers, after the 4 p.m. April 13 show. Grandstand infield. Tickets $9 to $31.

DockDogs, local and national dogs leap off a dock. Multiple shows daily. Centennial building.

Northwest Living &Garden, with outdoor living areas and 40 vendors. Ciscoe Morris will speak at 10 a.m. April 12 and 11 a.m. April 13, Sleep Country ShowPlex.

2013 Spring Fair trivia

102,090 guests.

110,213 warm scones, dripping with butter and raspberry jam.

106,138 rides on carnival rides.

6,000 caramel apples consumed.

2,400 kids had their faces painted.

1,765 children planted a seed in KidZone.

185 pygmy goats were shown.

1,688 pounds of aluminum cans were recycled.

684 pounds of plastic bottles were recycled.

427,000 feet of toilet paper flushed.

311,000 feet of paper towels were used to dry wet hands.

Source: Washington State Spring Fair

Hungry for more fair?

Evergreen State Spring Festival, with rides, games, beer, barbecue, music, reptiles and more, is April 25, 26 and 27 at Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave. SE, Monroe.

Events are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 26 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 27.

Carnival hours are 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. April 25; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. April 26; and 11 a.m. to closing April 27.

Beer garden is 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. April 26 and 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 27.

Root beer garden is 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 26 and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 27.

For more information, go to www.evergreenfair.org.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.