IRL Summer Fun at the Evergreen State Fair

What role does a county fair play in 2026?

It’s a good question.

Far from being passé, this celebration of agrarian folkways and nostalgic Americana has much to offer a society that spends more and more of its life online.

I know this may seem like a hot take but read on and you’ll see what I mean.

Also, let’s not understate this, the Evergreen State Fair offers almost two weeks of plain old fun. Which is an important end in itself.

Grammy-Winning Live Music 

This summer the Evergreen State Fairground will put your heart in motion... even if your posse’s on Broadway. Yes, both six-time Grammy award-winner Amy Grant and three-time Grammy award-winner Sir Mix-a-Lot will be rocking the grandstands in Monroe, Washington.

That’s some solid talent, made all the more remarkable that this world class talent is coming to a rural community: a tribute to the talent buyers at the fair.

Country music heavyweight Lee Brice adds even more star power to a summer music line that's sure to offer priceless memories. 

The Fair will also be hosting a free America 250 concert, featuring live music and speeches to celebrate the semi quincentennial birthday of the Land of the Free.

Cheat Day Eats: A Nod to Regional Food 

Let’s be candid: this food will not get you gains at the gym. This is comfort food par excellence: deep fried, savory, powdered in sugar and dusted with cinnamon. So, what’s your pleasure? Curly fries, milkshakes, fried twinkies, scones buttery corn on the cob or brisket? All of the above? Let’s go.

Moreover, the fair does an excellent job of preserving regional food traditions. Consider the Purple Cow. This semi frozen treat is comprised of blackberry ice cream topped with blackberry syrup. The dish is then flooded with 7-Up (the lesser-rated of the major lemon lime sodas... perhaps it’s falsely maligned?) and served in those waxed paper 90s cups covered with turquoise and purple color splashes. 

This is the kind of thing you will not find in a Michelan-starred restaurant and that’s kind of the point. This is something that your grandma would whip up on a summer’s evening: on par with Jello salad, creamed corn casserole, or weenie mac. 

Taste fair food tradition in burgers buried under piles of caramelized onions, scones dabbed in jelly, and the type of fresh, hot kettle corn that you can’t buy in a supermarket.

The Importance of Animals

Once upon a time the world was an agrarian place because... well, it was do that or starve. Most modern people don’t get to see animals apart from cats, dogs, and the occasional parakeet or hamster.

The Evergreen State Fair preserves the rites and rituals of a rural society that has traditionally valued animal husbandry.

While some may consider animals in barns something of an anachronism, the opposite is quite true. In an era of unstable food supply chains, depleted soil, scarce water, and monocultures, the future is agrarian.

The Evergreen State Fair does a fantastic job of preserving folkways and educating the public about where their food comes from. 

Nostalgic Rides 

Post-COVID family fun can be... patchy. Many summertime staples permanently shuttered in the early 2020s. Current community events tend to be prohibitively expensive due to inflation, or else they skew toward older folks with beer gardens and a lack of places where kids can be kids. 

This is where ride culture comes in. Imagine the classic Americana of the fairway at night with the Ferris wheel turning slowly, its symmetrical skeleton framed by flashing electric bulbs. Put your kids on the carousel or spinning teddy bears and be prepared to watch them grin like crazy.

This is the type of non-screen IRL fun that deserves to be elevated in this day and age.

Of Racetracks and Rodeos 

Few places still gather together ranching culture, motorsports enthusiasts, and curious spectators under the same roof.

Here you’ll discover (perhaps for the first time) two activities that are increasingly hard to find. Enjoy the ropin’, wranglin’, and hog tyin’ of the rodeo. Equestrianism is on display as participants take their pintos out to canter about. 

The fair also hosts several events at the on-site Evergreen Speedway. Catch everything from a demo derby to a good old Truckasaurus event. It's a place where chrome, rubber, and asphalt keep the summer crowds pleased.

Enjoy! 

Exhibition Barns. Folkways, and Crafts 

The free lumberjack show is good, clean family fun. Watch this exhibition of skills from timber cruising days of yore: rolling logs on water, scurrying up tree trunks, chainsaw carving, and ax throwing.

Get #cabincore with the exhibition hall barns that feature canned foods in Mason jars, handwoven textiles, homebrewed beer, and all manner of produce and apiary products. Self-sufficiency and a robust homesteading skill set is a valuable commodity in this day and age. It’s time to celebrate makers and doers.

Where IRL is King

In an age of streaming entertainment, online shopping, and increasingly virtual lives, the state fair remains stubbornly physical. It is a place where people gather, compete, build, cook, grow, raise, perform, and celebrate. That may be why the state fair continues to endure—and why it still matters more than ever in 2026.