PUYALLUP, Wash. — The Washington State Fair is underway in Puyallup. There's not only rodeos, rides, and really fried food, there's also history and community pride being celebrated.
For Karen Jackson, the best way to celebrate the State Fair is by visiting the grange displays, those decorative arrangements of fruits, vegetables, and canned goods.
“This definitely celebrates it,” said Jackson, “Agriculture is a huge part of the Washington state economy.”
Jackson has volunteered making grange displays at the fairgrounds in Puyallup for decades.
Jackson and a handful of fellow-volunteers from the Edgewood Grange spent the week before the opening of the fair preparing their display.
People from almost a dozen granges from Western Washington participate.
Rules require the displays contain at least 200 different items.
The winners receive prize money, but bragging rights are what drive the volunteers, said Jackson.
“Oh, you bet it’s a competition,” said Jackson.
There's no extra fee to at the fair to see the grange exhibits.