Fair prepares to swing into action

PALMER – The sounds of hammers and power drills punctuated the cool air on Monday morning at the Alaska State Fairgrounds in Palmer as vendors and carnival workers busied themselves preparing for the 2015 Alaska State Fair, which begins on Thursday and runs through September 7.

This year’s edition of the fair will again include contests for the largest veggies in Alaska, a bevy of concerts featuring a wide range of musical styles, vendor booths hawking everything from hot tubs to hamburgers, carnival rides and enough sugary sweets to keep any kid happy.

One of the longest-running booths at the fair is operated by Beta Sigma Phi, a nonprofit that raises money for a variety of charities by selling cotton candy out of a log booth. A fair vendor since 1950, only the Alaska Republican Women have been operating as long as the international women’s group, according to member Sharon Gartrell of Palmer.

“We’ve been here longer than even Husky Burger,” Gartrell said while helping prepare the cotton candy stand for Thursday’s opening day.

Gartrell has been working in the booth since 1987, and said the annual event gives Beta Sigma Phi members an opportunity to reconnect after the busy summer.

“It’s a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun,” she said.

Since the Valley’s five chapters of the group don’t meet during the summer, Gartrell said the fair is where members catch up.

“It’s good to see everyone again,” she said.

Gartrell said the group originally sold sloppy Joe’s out of the booth, but has been dishing out cotton candy and giant suckers for at least five decades. They’ve got eight flavors, and give free servings to local schoolchildren who earn coupons for reading a certain number of books. Gartrell’s daughter-in-law Harriette said the kids are blown away by the massive helpings of spun sugar.

“Their eyes bug out,” she said.

Over at a nearby booth, Dick Letourneau and his family were preparing their bread bowl booth. Letorneau said they’ll usually sell three soups a day, with seafood chowder being the most popular. Chili runs a close second.

“It’s kind of a toss-up,” he said.

As he spoke, Letorneau’s son and daughter-in-law put a fresh coat of paint on the inside of the booth. Setting up for the fair takes about three days, they said. Once the fair begins, more family members arrive to help out.

“It’s pretty much all family,” said Stacy Coates, Letorneau’s daughter.

The family has sold bread bowls for the past eight year, although Letorneau has run a booth selling other kinds of food since 1984. Being in business so long has meant entire generations have grown up at the fair.

“About five or six grandkids will come in and help out,” Coates said. “They grew up coming out here.”

Once open, the fair will run from noon to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Organizers say they expect about 300,000 fairgoers during the event.

The final day is Labor Day (Monday, September 7) when the gates will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at the front gate or online at alaskastatefair.org. The website is also the best place to check for a full schedule of events, including concerts, as well as vendor maps, a food guide, general fair information and more.

Contact editor Matt Tunseth at 352-268 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com