Fair was one of the best ever

Published 5:00 am Friday, September 14, 2001

“After a few munches on a fair corn dog, Gabrielle Haymond, age 2 1/2, decides to remove the stick on the end to make the last bites easier. Gabrielle was at the fair with her family from Dallas who had come to Whidbey for a family reunion at Beverly Beach. Others in the family traveled from British Columbia and Indiana for the event.Joan Soltys/staff photoOne of the island’s favorite weekends is over for another year at the Island County Fairgrounds in Langley, leaving empty barns, silent stages, and a Midway minus the bright lights, carnival rides and game hawkers. But participants and visitors to the Island County Fair 2001 take away the memories: parade floats and prancing horses, prizes won and awards given, corn dogs and curly fries, animals on show and music for dancing.The crowds at the fair included tots, parents, teens and elders, and they came from not only the Whidbey Island but from the mainland and parts beyond. Many of them started the weekend either in or at the Saturday morning parade that marched up First Street in downtown Langley. Led by bicycling Langley officer Ryan Raulerson and a historic Langley fire truck, the troupes included colorful floats, costumed marchers, horses both big and small, and many more entries, including the convertible bearing Grand Marshals Eva Mae and Ray Gabelein.As the parade broke up at the fairgrounds, spectators and marchers spilled into the Midway and headed for all the things that make a county fair memorable.From its opening to the final closing concert, the Fair delivered on its promises: continuous music (including popular songs sung by hopeful music stars in the karaoke event), carnival rides for the thrill seeking, bountiful festival foods and the animals, home arts, and agricultural exhibits that remind everyone of the country origins of the Island County Fair. “