Island County fair-goers get something more than curly fries and displays of prize-winning squash and goats at this year’s fair.

The $7 admission also covers classes at Fair University.

Now in its second year, Fair U hit the ground running last year when about 400 people attended the 11 farm-and-garden and sustainable living classes offered over two days.

This year, Fair U offers the fair-goer 27 free classes over three days, all taught in a relaxed style by volunteers who really know their stuff.

Each class runs 45 minutes, with plenty of time for questions afterward.

Friday, Aug. 15 will be devoted to the domestic arts, with classes in canning and drying fruits and vegetables, making jerky and sausage, getting started with chickens, finding local foods and fibers, evaluating the health of your woodlot, distilling oil from lavender, making good use of surplus zucchini, and even a class on using a chainsaw safely, taught by the men who put on the Bunyon Busters logging show.

Saturday, Aug. 16 will be farm and garden day, with classes in growing berries, building a rain garden, easy composting, birding on Whidbey, winter gardening, soil-building steps for the fall, gardening with native plants, creating a backyard wildlife sanctuary, and beekeeping.

On Sunday, Aug. 17, classes cover sustainable living and cooking with local foods.

Vicki Robin, co-author of Your Money or Your Life, the book that launched the simple-living movement, will be teaching a class about how saving money helps save the Earth. Other sustainable-living classes cover energy efficiency, solar energy, natural lawn care and rain barrels and cisterns.

Locavores and hearty eaters may prefer to spend Sunday at the 4-H demonstration kitchen learning how to make soft cheeses and create unforgettable meals from the farmer’s market. Anne Mauk of Full Moon Rising Farm, Vicky Brown of the Little Brown Farm, Georgie Smith of Willowood Farm of Ebey’s Prairie, Michael Nichols of Whidbey Green Goods, and Chef Seth McKee of Bay City Bistro will be the presenters.

Fair University is sponsored by Whidbey Telecom, The Clyde Theatre and the Island County Extension of Washington State University.

A more detailed schedule of classes can be found at www.island.wsu.edu or www.islandcountyfair.com, click on 2008 Fair Information at the top of the page.

Schedule for Fair University 2008

Friday, Aug. 15: Domestic Arts classes

10 a.m. — 10:45 p.m. Canning Fruits and Vegetables (4-H kitchen) Fair Food Preservation Superintendent Don LaMontagne reveals his secrets.

11 a.m. — 11:45 p.m. Drying Fruits and Vegetables. (4-H kitchen) Tips and tricks from Don LaMontagne.

Noon — 12:45 p.m. What to Do With All That Zucchini? (4-H kitchen) Lois Fisher, 4-H Foods and Nutrition Supervisor, will inspire you with all the great dishes she can make from that prodigiously productive plant.

1 p.m. — 1:45 p.m. Finding Food and Fiber Locally. (Antiques Barn) Olivia Forte-Gardner of the WSU Extension Agricultural Sustainability and Land Stewardship Program will reveal how to find local foods beyond the farmers’ markets.

2 p.m. — 2:45 p.m. Walking in Your Woods. (Antiques Barn) Olivia Forte-Gardner will explains a simple inventory that can tell you a lot about the health of your backyard forest.

3 p.m. — 2:45 p.m. Getting Started with Chickens (Antiques Barn) WSU Extension Livestock Advisor Amanda Leisle shows how to house, feed, and fence your small flock.

3 p.m. — 3:45 p.m. Using a Chainsaw Safely (Bunyon Buster Arena). Logging Show stars Jim Fox and Albert Gabelein demonstrate proper chainsaw use with skill and humor.

4 p.m. — 4:45 p.m. Jerky & Sausage Easy as 1-2-3. (Antiques Barn) Jerky-meister George Lawson simplifies the making of tasty and useful meat treats.

PLUS: Lavender Oil Distillation Demo (4-H building lawn). Sarah Richards and the staff of Lavender Wind Farm make fragrant oil from lavender in their copper still from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 16: Farm & Garden classes

All classes but two in the Antiques Barn.

10 a.m. — 10:45 p.m. Growing Berries. Lois Wenzek of Forget-Me-Not Farm on how to grow and tend berry bushes and vines.

11 a.m. — 11:45 p.m. Rain Gardens. Stacey Smith of Whidbey Island Conservation District on how to make a rain garden in areas of excess water.

11 a.m. — 11:45 p.m. Beekeeping 101 (open-air classroom on 4-H Building lawn). Interested in keeping bees? Come learn how to begin your own honey bee hive from beekeeping hobbyist Paul Neumiller.

Noon — 12:45 p.m. Gardening with Native Plants. Landscape designer Fran Abel shows how to rely more on the beautiful plants most suited to our climate.

1 p.m. — 1:45 p.m. Backyard Paradise. Local Audubon members Steve and Martha Ellis on attracting colorful birds and butterflies to your yard and garden.

1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Four Easy Steps to Great Compost (open-air classroom on 4-H building lawn). Rick Blank, longtime Waste Wise volunteer, teaches the basic steps to making compost successfully.

2 p.m. — 2:45 p.m. Birding on Whidbey. Learn about local birds and where to find them from photographer Craig Johnson and his writer-wife Joy, authors of three books on the birds of Puget Sound.

3 p.m. — 3:45 p.m. Eating from the Garden Year-Round. Linda Bartlett of Rosehip Farm and Garden on what to plant right now to have fresh veggies all winter.

4 p.m. — 4:45 p.m. Good Soil. Market gardeners Michael Seraphinoff and Anza Muenchow from Tilth on how to improve your soil between now and spring.

Sunday, Aug. 17: Sustainable Living classes in the Antiques Barn

Noon — 12:45 p.m. Your Money or Your Life. Vicki Robin, author of the best-selling book of the same name, explains how your saving money also helps save the Earth.

1 p.m. — 1:45 p.m. Putting Your Home on an Energy Diet. Energy-efficiency consultant Linda Irvine with simple ways to cut your utility bills.

2 p.m. — 2:45 p.m. Rain Barrels, Cisterns and More. Staff from the Whidbey Island Conservation District on how to collect and use our abundant rainwater.

3 p.m. — 3:45 p.m. Using Solar on Whidbey. Chris Carbonella of Whidbey Sun and Wind talks about harnessing the sun in the Pacific Northwest.

4 p.m. — 4:45 p.m. Natural Yard Care. Get a better lawn by putting nature to work! Tips on healthy soils, plant placement, water conservation, and alternatives to pesticides and fertilizers from Conservation District staff.

Local Chefs/Local Foods classes in the 4-H Kitchen

11 p.m. — 11:45 p.m. Making Cheese at Home. Anne Mauk of Full Moon Rising Farm and Vicky Brown of The Little Brown Farm show how easy it is to make mozzarella or soft goat cheese.

Noon — 12:45 p.m. Seth McKee of Bay City Bistro demonstrates how to use seasonal local foods to create unforgettable meals.

1:15 p.m. — 1:45 p.m. Georgie Smith of Willowood Farm of Ebey’s Prairie offers tastes and tips on the many kinds of garlic and ways to prepare it.

2 p.m. — 2:45 p.m. Michael Nichols of Whidbey Green Goods will create more seasonal taste treats.