Fair organizers looking for old photographs

As part of an effort to update Enumclaw’s King County Fair Web site, a need for old photographs of the fair has surfaced.

As part of an effort to update Enumclaw’s King County Fair Web site, a need for old photographs of the fair has surfaced.

“We have a good selection of old newspaper articles, even one from 1863, the year of the first fair, but in writing a more detailed history of the fair for the Web site, we discovered a lack of photographs to accompany the story,” Fair Manager Joan Lewis said. “With such a rich history, we feel that photographs would really help to paint a complete picture.”

Fair management thought a good solution would be to reach out to the public.

“We know that many of our Plateau homesteaders participated in the early fairs, and think there just might be some photos in an attic or box somewhere,” Lewis said.

Fair organizers are looking for photographs or articles that are pre-1960s. Anyone with photos to share is encouraged to contact the fair office at 360-615-5674. Staff will arrange to scan the photos and return them.

For the first time, the fair is under control of the city of Enumclaw. With King County out of the picture, fair management is bringing back the carnival, having at least two stages of free entertainment, planning to have traditional fair food as well as new, filling the Exhibit Hall will commercial vendors and will be showcasing the competitive exhibits and animals of 4-H, FFA and open class.

Enumclaw’s King County Fair opens at 10 a.m. July 16.