Grant County Fair coming next week
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 months AGO
A young exhibitor engages in a battle of wills with a goat at last year’s Grant County Fair. This year’s fair is Aug. 18-22.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Children play with water toys at the Grant County Fair last year. This year’s fair has lots of offerings for the little ones, including mutton bustin’ and a petting zoo.
A traditional part of every Grant County Fair is the iconic Space Burger made by the Lioness Club since 1965.
Grant County Public Utility District workers demonstrate the power of electricity at last year’s Grant County Fair.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | August 12, 2026 3:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — Smoke or no smoke, the fair will go on.
“We won’t cancel the fair,” said Grant County Fairgrounds Manager Jim McKiernan. “Ultimately, the decision comes from the county commissioners … The (Grant County) Health District is loaning us some air purifiers for the Commercial, 4-H and Ag buildings as well as the Huck Fuller (Building).”
There will also be N95 masks available at the gate, McKiernan said, if anyone needs one.
There are a few improvements that fairgoers might spot, including the return of mutton-bustin’, a petting zoo and a new permanent food booth offering smashburgers, McKiernan said. There are also some updates to the livestock barn to reduce temperatures, including porta-pools for the critters.
“If you talk to the people in the extension office, the animals are usually in better shape here than they are wherever they came from, because it’s usually cooler in the barns here than anywhere else,” he said.
This being the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, there will be a walk through America’s history in the Youth Building.
“It documents from 1607 to the current day,” McKiernan said. “The war with Mexico, the gold rushes, Bacon’s Rebellion. And some kids from Longview Elementary were asked to draw what they thought life was like 250 years ago.”
The Quincy Valley Historical Society will have its interactive exhibit at the fair as well, where kids can print with a press like Benjamin Franklin used and sign the Declaration of Independence with a quill pen.
On the entertainment side, there’s a mix of homegrown talent like The Misaligned, Skull Buckle, Wicked Pickles and Dimestore Prophets, and big names like country superstar Corbin Easton. Opening for Easton will be Jacquie Roar, a Northwest force of nature who got her start on “The Voice.”
Saturday night is devoted to Hispanic music and will feature performances by Conjunto 509 and La Autentica Vallarta de Eduardo Villela.
In between headliners, fairgoers can make huge bubbles with The Bubbler, meet snakes and lizards with Reptile Isle, or have a giggle at Rebecca Fireplug’s antics. There will be food ranging from gyros to tacos to tater dogs to the Grant County Fair’s traditional Space Burgers, and carnival rides, games and the World-Famous Siphon-Setting Contest.
Last year, the fairgrounds began stepping up security after a shooting the year before injured two teenagers. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office will have 10-15 deputies at the fairgrounds, McKiernan said, and 10 officers from the Seattle Police Department as well.
“They’re going to be highly visible, at the gates and walking the grounds,” McKiernan said. "We want to make sure that everybody feels safe when they come to the fair.”
With all the fun, it’s important not to forget one of the major purposes of the fair: the youth livestock shows. The Grant County Fair is one of the biggest livestock shows and sales in Washington, McKiernan said.
“The FFA and Grange kids are some of the most hard-working, attention-to-detail, follow-through kids you can imagine,” he said. “Those are great programs and they teach and instill some good values. So, come on out and support that.”
Children play with water toys at the Grant County Fair last year. This year’s fair has lots of offerings for the little ones, including mutton bustin’ and a petting zoo.
A traditional part of every Grant County Fair is the iconic Space Burger made by the Lioness Club since 1965.
Grant County Public Utility District workers demonstrate the power of electricity at last year’s Grant County Fair.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
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