Oregon Public Broadcasting

The King County Fair is the oldest continuously-running fair west of the Mississippi. This year, it was nearly cancelled.

It's an old story, farming has declined in the county that includes Seattle. And last year the county itself faced a nearly $100 million deficit. This year the county faces a $40 million deficit.

So this year in a last minute effort to keep the fair alive, the City of Enumclaw stepped in to run it. Correspondent Anna King dropped in on what could be the last King County Fair.

Callie Weber, 17, of Issaquah, Wash., tries to keep a hold of her bunny Split an 8-month-old checkered giant. The King County Fair has fallen on hard times but, now the City of Enumclaw is trying to revive the event this summer.

Outside the rabbit barn at the King County Fair two teenage girls are in the final round of a bunny bowl. After knocking out the competition the two best friends are trying to take each other down, wicked 4-H style.

Even as these girls laugh, everyone here knows the dire straits the fair is in. Callie Weber is 17. And has been bringing her rabbits to the fair since she was about 7. She says it's the highlight of her summer.

Callie Weber: "Yeah, we hit rough patches here and there but I think it's a tradition that should be continued and we should try and ride it through, 'cause I think it will become popular again. You just need to give it some time and some effort to come back to the point where it has previously been."

Trying with all her might to do that is Joan Lewis. The petite woman with wire rims stalks the fairgrounds straightening out problems.

Lewis is running a fair that's been on a downward spiral for years.

County organizers tried luring customers with big-name entertainment, a green theme and free admission. Nothing seemed to work.

Last year attendance dropped to just 16,000 people. This year, Lewis says she's trying to take the fair back to its country-time roots: Free admission, five-dollar parking, free kids activities, lots of animals and plenty of greasy hamburgers.

But the fair is being squeezed by many factors: Other big summer events, the down economy and fewer working farms in King County.

Lewis says the fair is only happening at all this summer because of a shot of money from the King County Council.

Joan Lewis: "We do need help until it's really steadfastly on its feet and making good revenue. We're just hoping that's all we can do. We've done everything within our budget to get people here so we just hope they hear this and come out."

Enumclaw Mayor John Wise has organized a task force to figure out a long-term solution for the fair. A lot is riding on how it goes this year.

Wise says losing the fair would be a big economic hit to the City of Enumclaw. But he says the value of a rural fair goes beyond that -- even in King County.

John Wise: "Folks still need to eat, they still need to know where the food comes from, and also have some fun, eat a hamburger with all the onions you can, go on a ferris wheel and throw some balls at a pig or whatever to win a prize. I still think that is America, we need to save that."

The first King County Fair was held in Seattle in 1863, even before Washington was a state. Now organizers are wondering if it will survive beyond 2009.

Online:

Enumclaw's King County Fair