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Washington County Fair to Offer New, Old Attractions
By Aaron Rasmussen
The 2007 Washington County Fair opens Aug. 8, bringing a host of new events as well as classic attractions to the residents of Washington County.
Wendy Sandberg, Washington County Fair director, said each year's festivities are marked by a unique theme that inspires many of the events that take place throughout the six days of the fair.
"We try to have a fun and unique theme every year," she said. "This year we are using an 'Out of This World' theme, and we have a lot of things going on to fit the space theme."
Sandberg said this choice of theme allows the opportunity for many educational activities to take place.
"NASA is sending a series of 20 enlarged photographs taken from outer space and replica models of moon rocks," she said. "We will also be featuring a planetarium to entertain and educate anyone interested in space."
More conventional entertainment tied with the Out of This World theme will also be exhibited throughout the fair, Sandberg said.
"We will be celebrating the 30-year anniversary of Star Wars by screening Return of the Jedi and having Star Wars characters present afterward for autographs and trivia."
According to the event schedule, the screening will be Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. in the outdoor area behind the boxing ring.
Not all of the changes taking place during this year's festivities, however, are thematic in nature, Sandberg said.
"We have made three important location changes since last year in order to benefit the members of the community who come each year," she said. "For the first year in the fair's existence, the parade will be in St. George instead of Hurricane in order to draw more people from the eastern part of the county."
The other location changes include moving events to different places within the fairgrounds themselves, Sandberg said.
"All of the exhibits are finally being moved into the exhibit building this year, where many exhibits in the past have been kept in the show barn," she said. "With this extra room, we will be moving the boxing events into the show barn, rather than holding them outside as we have in the past."
In order to attract more interest in the county fair, Sandberg said, this year's festivities will also include a music-themed laser light show, a first in fair history.
"We are beginning at 7 Friday night with a Karaoke contest in the outdoor arena, after which we will begin the Lasertainment laser light show," she said. "We are really excited to be able to present something like this to the community."
Sandberg said the large number of new and changed events and activities will not take away the aspects of the fair that have proven successful in years past.
"We will, of course, be including the events which bring people back to the fair year after year," Sandberg said. "The carnival, boxing competition and commercial booths will still be held. In fact, the demolition derby, by far the most popular event, will have tickets pre-sold online as well as at the ticket booth during the fair."
With all of the different events and activities being hosted throughout the fair, Sandberg said it is important to remember all the people involved in putting it all together every year.
"Including myself, there is a committee of over 30 people who oversee the different events and make sure they go smoothly, in addition to many volunteers who help ensure everyone can enjoy the fair every year," she said. "I want to thank them for their effort and dedication to the fair."

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