A 40-foot climbing tower in the shape of a trapper’s cache, a garden tour, and refurbished grounds await visitors at the 47th Southeast Alaska State Fair.
“This year more people put energy toward the fairgrounds than I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” said fair executive director Jessica Edwards, a six-year employee. “From dirt work to construction to flower displays, there’s been a ton of effort and real love poured into the fair this year. I think the fairgrounds looks really great.”
On the eve of the fair, teams were judging flower and vegetable exhibits in Harriett Hall. Charlotte Jewell of Skagway’s Jewell Gardens was helping out.
A giant zucchini and an 11-year-old bonsai tree were some of the impressive exhibits there, she said. Creation of the bonsai tree includes shaping tiny branches and roots and placing individual grasses.
“It’s definitely an art and it’s nicely done. The fact that it took 11 years to create it makes it even more impressive,” Jewell said.
In McPherson Barn, state veterinarian Jay Fuller was checking animals for disease. “They look good,” he said. Animals scheduled to be on display in the barn include turkeys, geese, chickens, goats, horses, a snowshoe hare, a hedgehog, a mouse and a baby, dwarf, lop-eared rabbit named Cutie.
“She plays with kids. She uses a litter box. She walks on a leash. She’s pretty cool,” said Jax Funkhouser, whose family owns Cutie.
New sights at the fair include a bench adorned with two Northwest Coast-style carved panels by artist Jim Heaton, replacing a plywood pig on the fair’s antique carousel. One of the new panels is the eagle-raven “lovebird” design and the other, a sun and moon design.
“I chose the sun and moon to signify the rotation of the merry-go-round to the rotation of the solar system,” Heaton said.
Heaton has carved several prominent totems around town but getting his art on an amusement ride is “quite definitely a first,” he said. Totemic animals that might be pursued for the carousel, he said. “You could have a kid riding a killer whale.”
A carousel expert who inspected the ride last year suggested incorporating a local theme.There are two spots open on the carousel for new additions.
More fair stories, photos,inside.