THEY’VE GOT GAME

PALMER — At least one day each year, it’s OK for kids to play with their food.

Thursday was Alaska Grown Day at the Alaska State Fair, which set the stage for 10-year-old Tatum Willis to make a new friend — out of vegetables. A large yellow pepper quickly turned into an edible alien, complete with green onion antennae and cauliflower eyes. It joined a garden of other crunchy creatures made from potatoes and eggplant.

The Vegetable Art contest was one of the highlights of the Alaska Grown Games, which also featured speed pea shelling and other creative contests highlighting Alaska produce.

“I really don’t know what I’m making,” Willis admitted. “I’m just kind-of throwing stuff together.”

She uses the pepper, carrots and “whatever this is,” which turns out to be a Brussels sprout.

Across the table, 12-year-old Makayla Patterson and her family came to the fair from Fort Richardson. She was busy using toothpicks to piece together her potato, with long green onions for hair, carrots for arms and broccoli hands.

“It’s a crazy person,” she said. “It’s my vegetable art. I have carrots, a potato and I don’t know what this is.”

Another mysterious Brussels sprout.

Creating vegetables creatures was a good warmup for the girls, who squared off with others in the youth Speed Pea Shelling contest. After three minutes of hurried shelling, Willis and Makayla’s 10-year-old sister Myra Patterson both shelled 3 ounces of peas. It took a one-minute shell-off to crown Willis the winner.

“I knew she was a good soccer player, but I didn’t know she c ould shell peas like that,” said Willis’ mother, Meagan Kowatch, who brought her six children from Anchorage to the fair.

“We always come to the fair and we always do the rides and the face painting, but we never hit the other stuff,” she said. “Because today is Alaska Grown Day, we’re doing the things for that day. We’re having lots of fun. This is so up their alley.”

The Alaska Grown Games had a distinct Valley flavor, as the produce was donated by Pyrahs Pioneer Peak Farm and the events sponsored by the Frontiersman. The games weren’t only for the little ones, either. When it came time for the adult Speed Pea Shelling, the tables were full.

Jazlyn Lust, 17, spent part of her Thursday at the fairgrounds as the fair’s Youth Spirit Ambassador. She funneled part of that spirit into the games, creating a potato man that had all the other competitors buzzing. A carved radish made for a realistic baseball cap, and she used onion roots to give her spud a bushy mustache.

As a youth ambassador, Lust said she works with event coordinators at the fair and “helps out a lot.”

Encouraging her to put her artistic skills to work was Linda Dias of Wasilla, who was busy making her own vegetable art. This year marks the 28th state fair Dias and her husband, Frank, have been volunteers.

Dias admits that “I’m supposed to me helping out here, but this looks so fun I thought I’d participate,” she said. “I love to see the kids and the kids’ events.”

When Frank wanders over, he takes a gander at the rather eclectic-looking potato his wife had created. Asked for an opinion, he takes the high road.

“It’s really good,” he said, “since we’ve been together for 40 years.”

Although seeing friends and a sense of satisfaction for lending a hand, Dias said her motivation to start volunteering in 1982 was more basic.

“They said I could get in for free if I volunteered,” she said. “And I do, I get in for free and I get to park in the orange parking lot, which is really special.”

Part of what made Alaska Grown Day at the fair special for the Patterson family was watching their three children get excited about vegetables, said Kierra Patterson.

“He likes to play with his food,” she said while watching 8-year-old Tristan shell peas. “It’s OK for now, but I’d rather they not at the table.”

In the end, Tristan’s sister left with a T-shirt for placing second in the competition, and he had a small bag with the peas he shelled. It was a little odd, his mother said, because he doesn’t like peas.

Tristan said he wanted to keep them and “bring them home,” and once he got them there, “I’ll throw them away.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.