Fox Island Fair has something for everybody

Vendors young and old bring games, goodies to annual event

Nate Hulings

of the Gateway

The smell of fresh donuts, the sounds of acoustic guitar and the sight of smiling faces highlighted the annual Fox Island Community and Recreation Association Fair last Saturday.

About 82 vendors packed the back lot of the Fox Island Nichols Community Center for an afternoon of food, friends and games.

It only took a few minutes to gauge the popularity of this year’s event, as cars lined 9th Avenue for blocks, making the stretch of roadway a virtual one-way street. Many of the booths were run by local businesses looking to reach out to the community.

However, for every toy store or landscaping booth, there was a bake stand or bean ball game run by children and young adults. Some booths were owned, operated and created by children in the community.

Evan Skaanes, 11, created the game bean ball.

The object of the game? Skaanes stuck his head through holes in a large piece of plywood while contestants soaked squishy balls with water and tested their aim.

“He’s either got a lot of friends or a lot of enemies,” his grandmother said.

While some of the balls sailed wide of Skaanes’ head, others were direct hits, leaving the 11-year-old dripping with water.

Whether pelted by friend or foe, Skaanes needed the money.

“I’ve spent all my money, so I’m trying to get more in my wallet,” he said.

In the first two hours of the fair, he’d made $65.

Noah Leibnitz, 10, tried his luck at the Lollipop Tree. His father, Charlie Gerke, said his son was helping his grandmother sell cupcakes to help homeless children.

“We come every year. It’s always a lot of fun,” Gerke said.

Inside the community center, fairgoers played Bingo. Food vendors lined the perimeter of the field, ranging from classic burgers to cupcakes and noodles.

In another corner of the field, Cub Scout Troop 27 set up sword fights to help their cause. But instead of metal, the scouts used PVC pipe and wood.

Gig Harbor High School students Jennifer Rudsit and Madeleine Stephens spent the previous day baking all sorts of goodies. Profits from their cookie and brownie sales will go toward mission trips and high school choral costs.

The tight harmonies of Acoustic Union, a trio of men who have been together since the early 1980s, filled the weekend air with classic hits and a Beatles medley that had fairgoers singing along.

Behind the stage, the large open field of grass hosted miniature horse rides. Sweet Medicine Party Ponies co-owner Helen Chamberlin said the short carriage rides were all for the kids.

“Sharing this with the kids, it’s so much fun,” Chamberlin said.

The experience was meant to be a gathering of a community that doesn’t always have time to mingle with each other, FICRA President John Ohlson said.

“Everybody gets together and has a good time,” he said. “A lot of folks work in town and don’t have a chance to hang out with neighbors.”

Ten percent of each booth’s gross sales help fund community center needs.