Jessica Edwards said she was “dumbfounded” by this week’s weather forecast predicting sunshine for the 46th Southeast Alaska State Fair, sandwiched between cloudy days during a record soggy summer.

“It looks like we may be lucky. Cross your fingers,” said Edwards, the fair’s executive director.

The annual celebration of the region’s culture was to start at noon Thursday and continue through 4 p.m. Sunday at the fairgrounds. A musician playing a homemade bass strung with…