For almost a century now, county fairs have been a place for communities to come together to celebrate and showcase all things local – local 4-H endeavors with cows, horses, goats, chickens, rabbits, dogs and cats; local fruits and vegetables; local canning and home arts; local photography and fine arts; and many other local talents.

It’s a time for businesses to show off what they do in the Commercial Building and give back to the community; nonprofits to meet up and sell pies for a good cause; politicians to press the flesh; and even local entertainers to entertain.

And Jefferson County has taken pride in an emphasis on local.

There’s even a nonprofit organization, Local 20/20, that promotes local sustainability and resilience.

But when it comes to the fair, well, that “support local” mantra seems to be waning.

Attendance at the Jefferson County Fair is always a conversation eye-roller. Is it up? Is it down? Is it about the same? Everyone has an opinion, and it varies from department to department and booth to booth.

Attendance and entry numbers weren’t available for this year’s fair at press time.

Some people at the fair last weekend were lamenting what they perceived to be a low turnout on a fairly comfortable weekend, weather-wise.

More than a decade ago, in 2005, Jefferson County reported a total of 16,413 paying attendants at the fair and 30,848 in attendance for non-fair-related events at the fairgrounds, according to a survey of state fairs in 2006.

Sue McIntire, treasurer for the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, says she thinks numbers are up from the recession of a few years ago, when both entries and attendance were dipping, but she didn’t have the numbers available.

“We’re holding our own” is what she said.

She also acknowledges that attendance could always be better.

Which raises the question: Why don’t more local people go to the local county fair? We’d honestly like to know.

A month ago, The Leader covered an event that the fair association sponsored to help people in entering their homemade goods at the fair. Only two people showed up. Two people.

McIntire notes that there are a lot of events going on in Jefferson County now, which is true.

Jefferson County is verging on festival overload. There’s a festival almost every weekend, starting with the Rhododendron Festival in May and not ending until October with the Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Sculpture Race.

The Jefferson County Fair is one event worth marking on the calendar for 2018. It’s always on the second weekend of August, come rain or shine.

In the meantime, share your thoughts – in a letter to the editor or to the fair board – on how the fair could improve and attract your attendance.

– Allison Arthur