The Evergreen State Fair is a 12-day fair which is held each year from late August through Labor Day. It is the largest

county fair An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the largest single attraction held annually in

Snohomish County Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...

. Situated in

Monroe, Washington Monroe is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Skykomish, Snohomish, and Snoqualmie rivers near the Cascade foothills, about northeast of Seattle. Monroe's population was 19,699 as of ...

, 35 miles northeast of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and 12 miles east of Everett, the fairgrounds cover 193 acres with buildings and land valued at more than $50 million. The facilities are available for rent during the year, making the grounds a valuable community resource. A staff of 21 works year-round at the site and over 400 fair-time employees are hired each August. The Evergreen State Fairgrounds feature permanent facilities that are used year-round for Northwest horse shows, trade shows, swap meets, auto races and more. They are also home to the Gary Weikel Events Center (a 4,000 square foot multi-purpose building) and the

Evergreen Speedway Evergreen Speedway is an automobile racetrack located within the confines of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington. The stadium can accommodate up to 7500 spectators in the covered grandstand and an additional 7500 in the uncove ...

, the only

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

venue in Washington with a 7,000-seat covered grandstand. In addition the site hosts a clear-span sports arena that can seat 4,000, two RV areas with dump stations, and a variety of other permanent exhibition facilities.

History

The first

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

in Snohomish County was held in November 1874 by local farmers and tradesmen at the Blue Eagle Building in Snohomish. The Snohomish County Agricultural Society organized annual editions of the fair until 1878, sending exhibits to represent the county at a territorial fair in Olympia, but was unable to continue the event because of the ongoing national financial panic. Other fairs were held in Everett, the new

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, Monroe, and Snohomish at various sites. The Snohomish County Fairgrounds was established in 1911 at a site on the west side of the city, but was only used by the county fair until 1916. The Snohomish County Fair moved to Granite Falls in 1922 and was later replaced by community fairs, named the Cavalcade of Valleys, in areas around Monroe during the Great Depression and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The county fair was moved permanently to Monroe, opening at the modern-day fairgrounds on September 5, 1946, and renaming itself to the Evergreen State Fair in 1949. A 4,000-seat sports arena was completed in 1970, coinciding with a longer ten-day run for the fair. The fair has only been cancelled three times: during the

1918 Spanish flu pandemic This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

(lasting until 1921),

, and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

References

External links

* {{Washington History of Washington (state)

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

August events Tourist attractions in Snohomish County, Washington Monroe, Washington Festivals established in 1874 Fairs in Washington (state)

History

See also

References

External links