Grant County Fair officially begins
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 1 month AGO
Retired military service members raised the United States flag and the Grant County Fair Flag during the opening ceremony Tuesday morning. The Grant County fair will run from Aug 12-16 with free admission Wednesday and Thursday until 3 p.m.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Grant County Fair director Jim McKiernan speaks on the importance of the Grant County Fair and thanks all of those in the community who help make the festivities possible to the extent that they operate at.
Miss Moses Lake Roundup Rodeo Queen Kaylee Stump greets the crowd during the opening ceremony for the Grant County Fair.
Fair director Jim McKiernan stands with Commissioners Kevin Burgess and Rob Jones while they give their speeches at the opening ceremony. McKiernan said the success of the fair would not be possible without the support of local leaders.
Volunteers, government officials and other members of the community stand together for the opening ceremony for the Grant County Fair. Director Jim McKiernan honored everyone present or otherwise in their efforts to support and improve the fair every year.
Slim and Curly from the touring cowboy comedy troupe take time to watch the flag raising during the opening ceremony. The duo will be seen around the fairgrounds throughout the week.
Grant County Sheriff's Department officers stand together during the flag raising at the opening ceremony. GCSD has a booth set up near the flagpole where people can check in with members from the department.
MOSES LAKE — The 2025 Grant County Fair held its opening ceremony Tuesday at 10 a.m. to kick off the festivities for the week. Fair volunteers and advisors, local politicians, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office were all in attendance to celebrate.
“Everybody can be proud of probably one of the best fairground facilities in the state of Washington,” said Jim McKiernan, director of the Grant County Fairgrounds.
McKiernan said the opening ceremony is not only a great way to kick off the week, but also is key in recognizing and honoring the efforts of everyone involved.
The success the fair sees every year is made possible by the support of the community, he said. Everyone gets involved and plays a part, whether it’s assisting in setting up vendors, keeping up on security, keeping people entertained, or assisting with the livestock to ensure that they are receiving the care that they need.
“Without all of the support of the elected officials, the sheriff’s office, our fair advisory committee and the two to three hundred volunteers it takes to put on the fair, we wouldn’t be able to do this,” said McKiernan. “They’re all extremely supportive.”
He said the most important aspect of the fair is to recognize the people showing animals and other projects and to highlight all the hard work and dedication they put into their craft year-round.
Getting the youth involved in the projects is another foundational piece of what makes the Grant County Fair special. The director said the fair keeps the youth involved in something outside of technology and provides them with the opportunity to share their passions, whether it be with livestock, agriculture or artistic projects such as painting and drawing.
“It’s really about exhibitors and my big thing is kids in 4-H, FFA and Grange,” said McKiernan. “The youth animal projects to me is one of the biggest pieces because of the things that it teaches those kids, work ethic, attention to detail, communication skills. They get a lot of great input from their superintendents and leaders and those are skills that they’ll use for the rest of their life.”
This year’s fair will feature a variety of entertainment such as the band Perry on Friday, which will be free with entry to the fair and a variety of grounds entertainment such as the Bubbler, Slim and Curly, Reptile Isle, and Zany Zoe.
The fair will kickedoff on the hottest day of the week with a high of 101 and sunny. Temperatures will begin cooling off throughout the week with a chance of rain Friday and Saturday, but the fair advises everyone to wear sunscreen, stay hydrated and to take breaks in the shade.
“If it rains for five minutes just to wet things down, I’m okay with that,” said McKiernan.
Grant County Fair director Jim McKiernan speaks on the importance of the Grant County Fair and thanks all of those in the community who help make the festivities possible to the extent that they operate at.
Miss Moses Lake Roundup Rodeo Queen Kaylee Stump greets the crowd during the opening ceremony for the Grant County Fair.
Fair director Jim McKiernan stands with Commissioners Kevin Burgess and Rob Jones while they give their speeches at the opening ceremony. McKiernan said the success of the fair would not be possible without the support of local leaders.
Volunteers, government officials and other members of the community stand together for the opening ceremony for the Grant County Fair. Director Jim McKiernan honored everyone present or otherwise in their efforts to support and improve the fair every year.
Slim and Curly from the touring cowboy comedy troupe take time to watch the flag raising during the opening ceremony. The duo will be seen around the fairgrounds throughout the week.
Grant County Sheriff's Department officers stand together during the flag raising at the opening ceremony. GCSD has a booth set up near the flagpole where people can check in with members from the department.ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Knights win in overtime shootout against Naches
ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights girls soccer team (6-0-1) had a tight game against Naches Valley (5-1-1) Tuesday evening that came down to a penalty kick shootout that the Knights won 6-5. Though the game was ruled as a tie in official standings, winning the PKs brought excitement for the team. "We played hard and we never gave up," said Knights junior Sarah Bergeson who shot the final PK. "We're proud of us." The game was a defensive battle from the beginning with Naches making an early shot on goal that was stopped by Knights freshman goalkeeper Areli Romero. Following this, Royal gained possession of the ball and proceeded to apply pressure on the opposing goal for a majority of the half.
Knights fall in five-set match against Naches Valley
ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights volleyball team (0-6) had a tough battle at home against Naches Valley Tuesday night as they fell 3-2 in the five-set game. "The first two sets were definitely rough," said Knights senior Graycie Kast. "We didn't have a lot of energy starting off, but that third set, we got our energy back and just started having fun and the game just came to us." The Knights fell behind early in the first set as they struggled to score, giving Naches Valley an advantage. Royal began to find momentum as the set went on to cut into the deficit, but Naches Valley remained dominant on the court to win 25-12.
Tigers girls XC takes first at Apple Ridge
EPHRATA— The Ephrata Tigers had a successful day at the Apple Ridge Run Invite Saturday as the boys took third overall, while the girls took first out of 20 schools that competed. Tigers Head Coach Lyndsy Roberts said he was very proud of the way his athletes performed in the early season meet. "Our girls showed up and competed," said Roberts. "They didn't back down from the competition and proved they are going to be a team to watch this year. Winning this meet was a big step for the program." The Apple Ridge meet had a unique scoring format with three different race courses with two athletes scoring on each course, Roberts said. This gives a total of six scoring athletes rather than the traditional five.