March 28, 2025 • 11 mins
CoolKay and Countyfairgrounds.net interviews the Washington State Spring Fair coming up shortly. i interview Stacey Van horne, public Relations Director about waht is new and old this year and not to be missed. We discuss parking and restroom facilities also.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, this is cool Kayan County Fairgrounds dot Net out
of Denver. We're going to interview Stacey Van Horn, public
relations person of the Washington State Spring Fair that's coming
up shortly for two amazing weekends in April. Hi, stafy, Hi,
how are you busier than heck? Which I'm sure you
are too. Yeah, Okay, what is the attendance of this year?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
So this is us our smaller affair compared to our
bigger one in the fall. This is two weekends and
our average attendance with one is usually around two hundred
thousand over eight days.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay. One of the things that always comes to mind
is one of the first things as an older person
is where do we park?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So we have parking, ample parking all around the fairground.
We have a few main lots that correspond with the
color of gate that they're near, so gold, red, blue, gold,
red and blue, what am I missing?
Speaker 1 (01:03):
And green?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And the great thing about Springs Fair is those huge
lots are free on Thursdays and then they only have
to pay to park on Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays.
But the thing about the neighborhood that we're in, the
fortunate thing that we have here being the largest fair
and the smallest town in the country, is that we
have a lot of neighborhood parking too, and so our
(01:27):
neighbors actually they do this. It's Spring Fair and it's
State Fair. They started doing it tore other Senator Evans.
They park people in their yards their driveways, and so
it's it's a great thing. And so people kind of
know when you live in downtown p up around the fair,
but when it's that time of year, you know, you
can pull people up on your grass. So we always
(01:48):
encourage people, you know, look on our lots obviously you know,
but that our neighbors are willing to park you as well.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Okay, I'm a senior. What can you do for the seniors?
You know, I have a high time moving around, so
as there's a special thanks for seniors.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yeah, yep. So we are fully accessible. We also have
rentals at both of our big shares, so you can
rent a scooter, you can get a wheelchair, you can
even get a wagon if you have ground children you
needed to haul around, and so those are all available
(02:25):
for rental and you can actually rent those ahead of
time on our website.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
All right, is there a map when I'm coming in
through the gate to have a mass.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Absolutely, we are very proud of our gate brochure. We
do a gate brochure. We're all sides of our signature events,
and in that brochure is not only a map of
the ground, but also all the happenings of the week,
everything from the free exhibits to the paid exhibits. You
can see what animals are here, what barns are at
(02:55):
So yep, you can grab a gate brochure from our
guest Services and get services. Boos are located inside all
four of our entrances.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Okay, so let's talk ground decks. What have we got
for ground decks?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
So, Springs Fair is a lot more tailored towards families,
and so a couple of our a couple of our
main ones that are free entertainment. They have consistently been
fan favorites. One is called doc Dogs, and that is
where dogs run and jump off a platform as far
as they can go in a big pool of water.
(03:31):
And then the other one is Racing Pigs, where little
pigs race around a track to try to get to
the end to get an oreo. And that's a lot
of fun for people to watch and then and then
we have lots of free grounds entertainment. This year we
actually are open on Easter and so we'll have some
nice surprise and delight of some Easter themed acts that
(03:54):
are route. We call it the Strolling Entertainment, so they'll
be around. And then we have our paid exhibit for
Spring Fai. It's called Expedition Dinosaur Rises of Animals, and
that is you know, where you step into a world
of dinosaurs and they're animatronic and educational and that is
(04:16):
eight dollars a person or a family for a pacer
twenty six. But other than that, you know, we try
really hard at Spring Fair to have most of our
things are included. Obviously food is separate, rides are separate,
but a lot of the activities are free included as
your dated mission.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So what's the barbaracue playoffs about?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So the barbecue playoffs we have been doing for several
years and that is so we partner with the Puget
I'm trying to remember the name of it, but it's
basically it's its own organization, so it's like the Puget Sound.
I can't remember the name, but anyway, so we partner
(04:59):
with them and they they go out and they signed
home barbecue words who want to enter? This is our
seventh Daniel one. And what they do is they come
opening weekend and they set up all their girls. They
start barbecuing and things on Friday. Then on Saturday and
Sunday they sell little samples. But then there are judges,
(05:22):
like legitimately trained judges who go around the country dease
for barbecue competition competitions and do this. We have up
to thirty five competitors to buy for a blue ribbon
and twenty five thousand dollars. So it's really good food
and it's really neat to see. We had a teenager
and wanted a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Oh that's cool, Yeah, that's cool. All right. So what
kind of daytime like entertainment do you have in the buildings?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So that's what that's what I just meant. What I
just mentioned is kind of ongoing throughout all of our rational.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Hours, okay, okay, and then you have evening entertainment. So
what's one for the evenings.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So the main thing in the evening is in our grandstand,
which at Springs Fare is Motorsport Mayhem. So that is
a separate ticket, but it does include gated mission. So
both weekends Friday, Saturday and Sunday, each weekend Motorsport Mayhem.
The first weekend we have the Slam Best Demo Derby.
It's cars, you know, drive around a crash and know
(06:28):
each other and put on kind of a spectacle entertainment.
And then the second weekend we have the Monster Truck
and Tanity Next Level Tour, and we've got some drift
car shows and the big monster trucks and those are
all paid in our grandstand. Our grandstand at State far
as you know, has top tier entertainment concerts. So this
(06:49):
is what's happening. These are the main things that happen
in the evening. As far as entertainment, that's an extra ticket.
But then obviously we have the same kind of entertainment
at night as we do during the day. Throughout it
rounds you know, which is rides and strolling entertainers and
all the afore mentioned is beside just spoken.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
So what ours is this sphere open?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
So on Thursdays we are open from two to ten,
and then Friday and Saturday we are open from ten
to ten and Sundays we are open from ten.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Days and you've got a new shopping area we do.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
We have it's called The Collection, and this is opening
this year as part of our one hundred and twenty
fifth anniversary. So we opened to nineteen hundred, so we're
having a big party all year long. This is our
first signature event of our one hundred and twenty fifth
and so yes, this is just one small piece. It's
kingnot but we're really excited about it. It's called The
(07:49):
Collection and it's going to be a curated fair boutique
store with a lot of nostalgic historic things, you know,
but like really cool, Like I saw a yetti cup yesterday.
That's gonna say do the pull for bringing back that
old campaign very popular years ago. Just a different, a
(08:09):
different kind of souvenir, and the all the sales of
that will benefit the Washington State Fair Foundation, which gives
out one hundreds of thousand dollars in scholarships to students
every year.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Hey, you've got Fiesta Mexicana and that's kind of unusual
for you, is it that?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
No, we do that every year.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Oh okay, I didn't know this, And what time is that?
And how many days.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
That's that's a specific da and that is uh, that's
all day. It kind of mimics what we do at
State Fair. So it's Sunday, April thirteenth, and it celebrates
Mexican culture and art with entertainment for the whole family, really,
and there'll be different performances on show, play stage.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Okay. One of the things I'm always concerned about, especially
as a senior, is when I come in the gate,
how are the restrooms right there? Oh? Good, good?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Yeah we have We've got them scattered about.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Okay, okay, well that's good, all right. So and there's
food vendors all over the.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Place, absolutely tons and tons of food vendors. Yep. We're
really excited that we're bringing back something that we started
a State There, which is a week gay meal deal,
so you can get a main entree at side and
a drink for at ten dollars at the most. We
(09:42):
asked vendors, We ask all of our vendors to be
involved when we started this at State There. We had
so many who did. And these are full size entrees, right,
they're not allowed to just give a tiny portion. But
it's you know, it's really important to us to try
to make things affordable. So we're bringing that to spring
to are now too. So that's a that's a weekday
(10:03):
meal deal.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Okay, So this is actually the Washington State Fairgrounds, so
there's a lot of events that go on here all
year long. What comes up after Spring Fair, do you know?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah? So we are technically now the Washington State Events Center. Yeah,
and we have one hundred and we have five signature
events that we self produce, but up between those five events,
we rent our facilities out to over one hundred and
twenty five events throughout the year. So there is something
(10:36):
going on here every single weekend. For example, this upcoming weekend,
we have a gaming expo, We have a circus both
on the grounds different parts of the grounds, and Spring
Fair happens, so there is a lot we have. We
host weddings here. We have after Spring Fair the Great
(10:56):
Junk Hunt, which is really neat. It's like if you're
into uh, you know, industrial vintage inspired farmhouse type items,
it's a big sale for that. In May, we have
something called dosert Ay Seattle where all of these fork
lists and all the you know, big pieces of machinery
and construction machinery come in and kids get to learn
(11:17):
and play on them and stuff, and that's another rental event.
So yeah, we're really proud to, you know, year round
have something for everybody.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
How long have you been with the Washington State Fair?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Just under nine years.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Oh that's a long time, dear. Yeah, okay, all right,
Well I think we've pretty much covered it again. You know,
as a senior, one of my main concerns is you know,
easy getting in and getting out and having a mask,
and I guess you covered that pretty well. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Absolutely, thanks, it's good to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Thank you. I've enjoyed it, by the way.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Okay, talk to it.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Bye.
Hi, this is cool Kayan County Fairgrounds dot Net out
of Denver. We're going to interview Stacey Van Horn, public
relations person of the Washington State Spring Fair that's coming
up shortly for two amazing weekends in April. Hi, stafy, Hi,
how are you busier than heck? Which I'm sure you
are too. Yeah, Okay, what is the attendance of this year?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
So this is us our smaller affair compared to our
bigger one in the fall. This is two weekends and
our average attendance with one is usually around two hundred
thousand over eight days.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay. One of the things that always comes to mind
is one of the first things as an older person
is where do we park?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
So we have parking, ample parking all around the fairground.
We have a few main lots that correspond with the
color of gate that they're near, so gold, red, blue, gold,
red and blue, what am I missing?
Speaker 1 (01:03):
And green?
Speaker 2 (01:05):
And the great thing about Springs Fair is those huge
lots are free on Thursdays and then they only have
to pay to park on Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays.
But the thing about the neighborhood that we're in, the
fortunate thing that we have here being the largest fair
and the smallest town in the country, is that we
have a lot of neighborhood parking too, and so our
(01:27):
neighbors actually they do this. It's Spring Fair and it's
State Fair. They started doing it tore other Senator Evans.
They park people in their yards their driveways, and so
it's it's a great thing. And so people kind of
know when you live in downtown p up around the fair,
but when it's that time of year, you know, you
can pull people up on your grass. So we always
(01:48):
encourage people, you know, look on our lots obviously you know,
but that our neighbors are willing to park you as well.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Okay, I'm a senior. What can you do for the seniors?
You know, I have a high time moving around, so
as there's a special thanks for seniors.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yeah, yep. So we are fully accessible. We also have
rentals at both of our big shares, so you can
rent a scooter, you can get a wheelchair, you can
even get a wagon if you have ground children you
needed to haul around, and so those are all available
(02:25):
for rental and you can actually rent those ahead of
time on our website.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
All right, is there a map when I'm coming in
through the gate to have a mass.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Absolutely, we are very proud of our gate brochure. We
do a gate brochure. We're all sides of our signature events,
and in that brochure is not only a map of
the ground, but also all the happenings of the week,
everything from the free exhibits to the paid exhibits. You
can see what animals are here, what barns are at
(02:55):
So yep, you can grab a gate brochure from our
guest Services and get services. Boos are located inside all
four of our entrances.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Okay, so let's talk ground decks. What have we got
for ground decks?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
So, Springs Fair is a lot more tailored towards families,
and so a couple of our a couple of our
main ones that are free entertainment. They have consistently been
fan favorites. One is called doc Dogs, and that is
where dogs run and jump off a platform as far
as they can go in a big pool of water.
(03:31):
And then the other one is Racing Pigs, where little
pigs race around a track to try to get to
the end to get an oreo. And that's a lot
of fun for people to watch and then and then
we have lots of free grounds entertainment. This year we
actually are open on Easter and so we'll have some
nice surprise and delight of some Easter themed acts that
(03:54):
are route. We call it the Strolling Entertainment, so they'll
be around. And then we have our paid exhibit for
Spring Fai. It's called Expedition Dinosaur Rises of Animals, and
that is you know, where you step into a world
of dinosaurs and they're animatronic and educational and that is
(04:16):
eight dollars a person or a family for a pacer
twenty six. But other than that, you know, we try
really hard at Spring Fair to have most of our
things are included. Obviously food is separate, rides are separate,
but a lot of the activities are free included as
your dated mission.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
So what's the barbaracue playoffs about?
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So the barbecue playoffs we have been doing for several
years and that is so we partner with the Puget
I'm trying to remember the name of it, but it's
basically it's its own organization, so it's like the Puget Sound.
I can't remember the name, but anyway, so we partner
(04:59):
with them and they they go out and they signed
home barbecue words who want to enter? This is our
seventh Daniel one. And what they do is they come
opening weekend and they set up all their girls. They
start barbecuing and things on Friday. Then on Saturday and
Sunday they sell little samples. But then there are judges,
(05:22):
like legitimately trained judges who go around the country dease
for barbecue competition competitions and do this. We have up
to thirty five competitors to buy for a blue ribbon
and twenty five thousand dollars. So it's really good food
and it's really neat to see. We had a teenager
and wanted a couple of years ago.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Oh that's cool, Yeah, that's cool. All right. So what
kind of daytime like entertainment do you have in the buildings?
Speaker 2 (05:55):
So that's what that's what I just meant. What I
just mentioned is kind of ongoing throughout all of our rational.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Hours, okay, okay, and then you have evening entertainment. So
what's one for the evenings.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So the main thing in the evening is in our grandstand,
which at Springs Fare is Motorsport Mayhem. So that is
a separate ticket, but it does include gated mission. So
both weekends Friday, Saturday and Sunday, each weekend Motorsport Mayhem.
The first weekend we have the Slam Best Demo Derby.
It's cars, you know, drive around a crash and know
(06:28):
each other and put on kind of a spectacle entertainment.
And then the second weekend we have the Monster Truck
and Tanity Next Level Tour, and we've got some drift
car shows and the big monster trucks and those are
all paid in our grandstand. Our grandstand at State far
as you know, has top tier entertainment concerts. So this
(06:49):
is what's happening. These are the main things that happen
in the evening. As far as entertainment, that's an extra ticket.
But then obviously we have the same kind of entertainment
at night as we do during the day. Throughout it
rounds you know, which is rides and strolling entertainers and
all the afore mentioned is beside just spoken.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
So what ours is this sphere open?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
So on Thursdays we are open from two to ten,
and then Friday and Saturday we are open from ten
to ten and Sundays we are open from ten.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Days and you've got a new shopping area we do.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
We have it's called The Collection, and this is opening
this year as part of our one hundred and twenty
fifth anniversary. So we opened to nineteen hundred, so we're
having a big party all year long. This is our
first signature event of our one hundred and twenty fifth
and so yes, this is just one small piece. It's
kingnot but we're really excited about it. It's called The
(07:49):
Collection and it's going to be a curated fair boutique
store with a lot of nostalgic historic things, you know,
but like really cool, Like I saw a yetti cup yesterday.
That's gonna say do the pull for bringing back that
old campaign very popular years ago. Just a different, a
(08:09):
different kind of souvenir, and the all the sales of
that will benefit the Washington State Fair Foundation, which gives
out one hundreds of thousand dollars in scholarships to students
every year.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Hey, you've got Fiesta Mexicana and that's kind of unusual
for you, is it that?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
No, we do that every year.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Oh okay, I didn't know this, And what time is that?
And how many days.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
That's that's a specific da and that is uh, that's
all day. It kind of mimics what we do at
State Fair. So it's Sunday, April thirteenth, and it celebrates
Mexican culture and art with entertainment for the whole family, really,
and there'll be different performances on show, play stage.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Okay. One of the things I'm always concerned about, especially
as a senior, is when I come in the gate,
how are the restrooms right there? Oh? Good, good?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Yeah we have We've got them scattered about.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
Okay, okay, well that's good, all right. So and there's
food vendors all over the.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Place, absolutely tons and tons of food vendors. Yep. We're
really excited that we're bringing back something that we started
a State There, which is a week gay meal deal,
so you can get a main entree at side and
a drink for at ten dollars at the most. We
(09:42):
asked vendors, We ask all of our vendors to be
involved when we started this at State There. We had
so many who did. And these are full size entrees, right,
they're not allowed to just give a tiny portion. But
it's you know, it's really important to us to try
to make things affordable. So we're bringing that to spring
to are now too. So that's a that's a weekday
(10:03):
meal deal.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Okay, So this is actually the Washington State Fairgrounds, so
there's a lot of events that go on here all
year long. What comes up after Spring Fair, do you know?
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Yeah? So we are technically now the Washington State Events Center. Yeah,
and we have one hundred and we have five signature
events that we self produce, but up between those five events,
we rent our facilities out to over one hundred and
twenty five events throughout the year. So there is something
(10:36):
going on here every single weekend. For example, this upcoming weekend,
we have a gaming expo, We have a circus both
on the grounds different parts of the grounds, and Spring
Fair happens, so there is a lot we have. We
host weddings here. We have after Spring Fair the Great
(10:56):
Junk Hunt, which is really neat. It's like if you're
into uh, you know, industrial vintage inspired farmhouse type items,
it's a big sale for that. In May, we have
something called dosert Ay Seattle where all of these fork
lists and all the you know, big pieces of machinery
and construction machinery come in and kids get to learn
(11:17):
and play on them and stuff, and that's another rental event.
So yeah, we're really proud to, you know, year round
have something for everybody.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
How long have you been with the Washington State Fair?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Just under nine years.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Oh that's a long time, dear. Yeah, okay, all right,
Well I think we've pretty much covered it again. You know,
as a senior, one of my main concerns is you know,
easy getting in and getting out and having a mask,
and I guess you covered that pretty well. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Absolutely, thanks, it's good to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Thank you. I've enjoyed it, by the way.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Okay, talk to it.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Bye.
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