OPINION Central Kitsap
Page A4
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Friday, August 16, 2013 | Central Kitsap Reporter
Take me out to the fair
There’s just something about the fair. It doesn’t matter how old you are, there’s always something exciting about fair time. And fair time in Kitsap County starts next week. The Kitsap County Fair will be happening Aug. 21 to 25 at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. For me, fair time takes me back to my childhood and my memories of the MidAmerica Fair in my hometown of Topeka, Kansas. It became the Sunflower State Expo, and although it wasn’t the State Fair, it was a big one. There were rides I’d never even think of going on and rodeos and car races that didn’t really interest me. But I knew my mom would be patient enough to walk me around the carnival games while I tried to win a giant teddy bear. Then she’d ride the MerryGo-Round with me and after that, we’d look at displays of vegetables and homemade pies and get a hot dog and some popcorn. In later years, for me the fair meant being the reporter assigned to cover whatever I could find at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, Washington. It never ceased to amaze other reporters and editors at the paper where I worked that I could go to the fair every day year-after-year and come back with some new story that we hadn’t had the year before. Whether it was talking to the carnies, trying out some new deep-fried something or frozen treat, or watching the “chicken dressing” 4H competition, I’d come back with a story. (My favorite was when the chicken dressed as Elvis ditched his miniature cowboy hat and flew off after coming in second-place to a chicken dressed like a taco.) And I do remember fondly the year the Charmin toilet tissue bear was on hand to give out sample of a new softer tissue at the recently-renovated bathrooms on the Evergreen Fairgrounds. Whatever your fair memories, this is a great opportunity to make more. The Kitsap County Fair has everything a fair needs — rides, food, agricultural exhibits, give-aways and even a pie-eating contest. Many, many hours of volunteer labor goes into the fair each year. Planning starts for next year, right after this year’s fair ends. That’s dedication deserving of our attention. It’s great entertainment at very reasonable prices and there’s something for everyone. If rides and exhibits aren’t your thing, then take in a rodeo or a destruction derby. Visit the wine garden or browse through the booths filled with gadgets to add to your home. Like this year’s theme says, “It’s so much fun, you’ll have a cow.”
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Hola! From South Bremerton To meet with publishing deadlines, I write and submit my columns nearly a week prior to their run in the printed edition or their posting online. As most of you know I am simply a volunteer columnist for the Bremerton Patriot and the Central Kitsap Reporter here at Sound Publishing. I write for fun and have a paid 40 hour full time private sector job in a completely unrelated industry. This means that, in addition to juggling my life as a working mom, community advocate, parks commissioner and head domestic engineer at home, I work my column writing in and around everything else. Going on scheduled vacations just means I need to adjust my writing to include the correct number of columns that will cover my absence. I tend not to write while I am on vacation. The need to unplug completely and fully from as much as possible on brief occasions is an important component in my ability to juggle all my other commitments and obligations during the rest of the time in my very real life. Vacations are those very important times when you get
to focus on yourself and do whatever you want. When this column comes out, I will already be south of the border in Manzanillo, Mexico on a “girls only” getaway. The very best part of this trip is the fact that it was a donated
Everything Bremerton
Colleen Smidt package, bid upon and won at this past spring’s Boys & Girls Club fundraising auction. The week-long package was donated by a couple with longtime ties to Kitsap County and Bremerton. This couple now manages a group of properties in Manzanillo on a year-round basis which creates a small slice of Bremerton deep in the heart of Mexico. My girlfriend and I will have
a wonderful time in an exotic part of the world, while the money gained by the Boys & Girls Club, from the auction of donated items to their fundraisers, ensures the continuation of safe, supervised and organized good times being had by the children of our community. I hope that everyone back in Bremerton is enjoying the last few weeks of summer with some activities and adventures that will keep everyone’s memories warm during the long, cold dark days of the coming winter. Upon my return, my time will immediately be consumed with back to school preparations in a mad dash to fit that twisted version of an increasingly expensive scavenger hunt for school supplies and clothes in before school starts here in Bremerton on Wednesday, Sept. 4. But, that, my friends, is the subject for a future column. Hasta luego! Colleen Smidt is a longtime resident of Bremerton who writes weekly about community and political issues of interest to Bremerton residents.
Your opinion counts... We encourage letters from the community. Please do not exceed 300 words and we ask that you include your full name and phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for publication. Fax: (360) 3089363; email: gskinner@soundpublishing.com or mail to Editor, Central Kitsap Reporter, 3888 NW Randall Way, Suite 100, Silverdale WA, 98383.