Cabbage Fairies plant smiles, nurture community

PALMER — Who has the most fun at the Alaska State Fair’s annual Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off?

The cabbages, of course.

After a few years as a contestant, Ginny Lawton said she tired of the contest. She only grew a few OS Cross cabbage seeds each year at the request of her husband, Joe Lawton, who was the entertainment manager for the fair at the time, she said.

He’d returned to Palmer from another fair with the idea to craft a giant cabbage contest for Alaska. The state fair’s first Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off was 18 years ago, but the tradition of celebrating Alaska’s jumbo veggies dates back to the fair’s earlier days.

“The first year he said to me, ‘Get a cabbage and grow it,’” Lawton said. “I love to garden, but growing a giant cabbage wasn’t my thing.”

During this year’s 18th annual weigh-off the top honor went to 10-year-old Keevan Dinkel, who narrowly defeated world-record holder Scott Robb for this year’s prize and heavy duty bragging rights with his 92.3-pound cabbage. Robb narrowly missed the mark, turning in a 92.1-pound head.

When Robb posted the new world record in 2012 with a 138.25-pound cabbage, he took it from fellow Alaskan Steve Hubacek, who brought the world record to Alaska in 2009 with his 127-pound entry.

This year, as each cabbage contender took the stage — from the 1.5-pound head grown by Dakota Reuer to third-place winner Brian Shunskis’ 77.40-pound cabbage — they were joined by the Cabbage Fairies.

For Valley kids like Andy and Daisy Christiansen of Palmer, the Cabbage Fairies are as much a part of the Alaska State Fair as cotton candy, corn dogs and the Ferris wheel. The Christiansen kids are part of a crop of local children who’ve grown up identifying the Cabbage Fairies with the Alaska State Fair.

In costume, they are known collectively as the Cabbage Fairies. But without their telltale green tutus and wands, they are Pat Gakin, Jane Desnoyers, Gael Irvine, Audrey Kelly, Carla Swick and Lawton. MariJo Parks is the group’s manager, photographer and chief cat-herder, she said, describing what it’s like trying to get six women to go in the same direction at once.

The friends say the credit goes to Lawton for the 10 years they’ve spent volunteering around the community dressing up as cabbages.

Lawton said the idea to dress as cabbages grew from her own boredom in the ring while waiting for the winning cabbage to be weighed and announced.

“It was fun, but not for me,” she said. “I thought, ‘If I was the cabbage it would be a lot more fun.’”

So she went home and sketched some costume designs. Lawton said she liked the look of her designs, but the thought of standing in the ring by herself dressed as a cabbage wasn’t a good solution either.

She turned to her friends for the help.

Gakin said she agreed to the idea after Lawton assured her no one would recognize them in their cabbage costumes.

“That was my first mistake — I believed Ginny,” Gakin teased. “She said no one would recognize us.”

In or out of their colorful costumes, Alaskans recognize the Cabbage Fairies and line up to have their photos taken with the group. At first, the friends were known as the Cabbage Queens.

“Truly, I never envisioned this,” Lawton said of their local fame.

The friends say they didn’t know what to expect the first time they went to the fair dressed as cabbages.

“As we started walking around the grounds we just started to realize, ‘Oh, my gosh. This is fun,’” Lawton said.

Irvine said their costumes have changed a bit over the years. She said it’s mostly teenagers who’ve grown up with the Cabbage Fairies who notice the new details.

In the Alaska State Fair Parade in Palmer Aug. 24, the fairies hitched a ride in Bill Tull’s distinctive green convertible. Along the route, people in the crowd called out to them — by name.

“They know us,” Gakin said. “That incognito thing didn’t work.”

Lawton said people recognize her in and out of costume, but they only stop her for photos when she’s in character.

“No one ever asks for my photo when I’m not dressed like a Cabbage Fairy,” she said.

Beyond their signature cabbage weigh-off event, this year the fairies also were invited to participate in seven events during the 12-day fair. And they are invited to be part of local celebrations year-round, ranging from the Mid-Summer Garden Faire to various fundraisers.

None of the six is especially outgoing, until they don their costumes, Parks said.

“You put that costume on and you can’t help but be extroverted,” she said.

Dressed as Cabbage Fairies they say the public has no apprehension about running up for a hug or a quick photo.

“We meet people as Cabbage Fairies we’d never meet otherwise,” Irvine said.

Something about the costumes breaks through the barriers that separate people day-to-day, she said.

They shared the story of a woman they met at the fair who took lots of photos and is going home to recreate a version of the fairies for her community.

And another anecdote about a young boy who recognized them from an ad for the fair and came running up: “I know you. I saw you on TV, Cabbage Fairies.”

Gakin said there’s a lot to love about being a Cabbage Fairy.

“Part of what I think is so wonderful is the example it sets for younger women and girls,” she said. “You are never too old to dress up.”

Kelly said the best part for her is seeing the smiles, meeting people from all over the world and making people laugh.

The group says it’s a great reminder that you are never too old to enjoy life.

Lawton agreed.

“It’s OK to have fun and play no matter how old you are,” she said. “We enjoy playing and work hard at it.”

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.