MOSES LAKE — This year’s Grant County Fair isn’t looking so hot. And that’s a good thing. 

“This is my sixth year, fifth fair because we didn't have (one in) 2020, and it's the best weather forecast we've had since I've been here,” said Fairgrounds Manager Jim McKiernan. “(The heat) really changed the dynamics of the way it worked last year. Our peak crowds have always been around eight o'clock, but it even pushed a little bit later last year, because it was 105 for five days last year, and then smokey Saturday and 95. So hopefully some of the people that are somewhat sensitive to heat will come out and enjoy the daytime temperatures.” 

High temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-80s all fair week, according to the National Weather Service. 

The fair, which begins on Tuesday, will have most of the staples Grant County residents know and love: the carnival; the livestock showings; the horticulture, art and cookery competitions; the performers wandering the grounds.  

And the food. So much food. 

Most of the regular civic groups that operate food booths will be back this year. Youth Dynamics will offer its signature tater dog, which is a hot dog punched through a baked potato, and the Moses Lake Lions will serve up elephant… er... lion ears. As it has for decades, the Lioness Club will make what may be the fair’s best-known food tradition, the Space Burger. The smoothie booth formerly operated by the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce will be manned by Covenant Christian School this year, McKiernan said. Besides the service organizations, there are a host of commercial food vendors, including a Filipino barbecue and a Thai booth that are both new this year. Anyone going home hungry from the fair has only themselves to blame. 

The headliner entertainment will be top-notch as well, McKiernan said. Wednesday will be dominated by Crazy Train and Best of Both Worlds, cover bands paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and Van Halen respectively. 

“You’d swear that (Crazy Train) is Ozzy Osbourne about 20 years ago,” Mc Kiernan said. 

Thursday’s concert will be by ’90s country band Diamond Rio, remembered for songs like “Meet in the Middle” and “How Your Love Makes Me Feel.” Anyone at the fair can come sit on the grass and enjoy the music, McKiernan said, but there’s also a VIP section up front with chairs and a bar that attendees can enjoy for an extra $35. 

Friday’s headliner will be another throwback to the ’90s, rapper Chingy. That concert will be on the smaller Caroline Fisher stage with no VIP section; admission is free for all fairgoers. Rap music often has a reputation for being R-rated, but McKiernan said that’s not an issue with Chingy’s show. 

“Feedback at other fairs has been good for clean rappers,” McKiernan said. “That’s kind of the key: it’s still a fair, a family-friendly environment.” 

Attendance at the Grant County Fair has gone up every year, McKiernan said. The county has an AI program that can count the number of cell phones that enter and leave the fairgrounds and extrapolate an attendance count, including how many people visit multiple times. In 2018, the year McKiernan took over as manager, the fair had just under 40,000 visitors who among them made just over 69,000 trips to the fair, he said. In 2023 that figure was 48,400 people coming to the fair 81,200 times. The program doesn’t collect any personal data from phones, McKiernan added. 

“I think we've done a pretty good job of putting the fairgrounds in front of people again, making them think about the fact that they have this huge, beautiful facility,” McKiernan said. “People like the fact that it’s a home-style, ag-based community fair in a great facility. There’s no other fairgrounds like this in the state of Washington.” 

2023 Grant County Fair by the numbers 
People who came to the fair: 81,200
Total visits to the fair: 81,200
Average time a visitor spent at the fair: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Youth exhibitors: 752
Premiums paid to exhibitors: $33,115
Money raised at livestock auction: $911,334 

SOURCE: Grant County Fairgrounds 

    Lindzy Lustig, right, and her dad Tony Lustig, of Moses Lake, enjoy a concert at the Brian Miller Stage at last year’s Grant County Fair. This year’s headliners include country band Diamond Rio, rapper Chingy and cover bands paying tribute to Van Halen and Ozzy Osbourne.
  

    Sydney Stone of the Moses Lake 89ers 4-H club brings her grand champion steer around the ring at the Grant County Fair livestock sale last year.