The first day of the 2011 Puyallup Fair drew 75,234 people, up 3,101 over opening day last year.

The 17-day fair kicked off Friday with a parade and cattle drive through downtown. People were asked to bring non-perishable items for the Puyallup Food Bank, and more than 160,000 pounds of food were collected, said fair spokeswoman Karen LaFlamme.

The food drive record, set last year, was 90,000 pounds.

The fair typically draws more than 1.1 million people, although attendance was down last year at 1,065,208 people.

The fair runs through Sept. 25.

The Puyallup Fair is holding a tribute to mark the 10^th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The “America Remembers” event is 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 11 on the Coca-Cola Stage at the fair. It’s free with fair admission.

Major General James M. Collins Jr., a former deputy commanding general and chief of staff at Fort Lewis, is the keynote speaker, and military service members and emergency responders also will be featured. Puyallup Seventh-day Adventist Church is coordinating the tribute.

The day after the attacks in 2001, the fair held a memorial in the grandstands that drew …

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A lumberjack show — with everything from axe throwing to log rolling — will make its Puyallup Spring Fair debut during the event’s four-day run next month.

Other new fair events include a cooking demonstration by Food Network star and Sumner native Sandra Lee, and the Northwest Junior Rodeo, which is expected to draw 200 competitors.

There also will be old favorites, from animal exhibits to rides.

The Spring Fair is April 14-17 at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center, 110 Ninth Ave. S.W. Tickets at the gate are $9 for adults and $7 for students ages 6-18. Kids …

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A Puyallup businessman has been elected president of the Western Washington Fair Association’s board of directors.

Jerry Korum, owner of Korum Automotive Group in Puyallup, will serve in the post for one year, said Karen LaFlamme, fair spokeswoman. His duties will include overseeing the 17-day Puyallup Fair in September, which typically draws more than 1.1 million people during its run.

Korum was chosen to lead the 12-member board last week, a fair news release said.

Jerry Larson was picked to be vice president, Gary Gonter was elected secretary and Michael Nelson will serve as treasurer, the fair said.

This just in from The Puyallup Fair.

Kids 12 and under will get in free this weekend – that’s Saturday and Sunday – with a coupon you can get on the Internet. Normally, kids 5 and under get in at no charge, while students 6-18 must pay a $9 admission fee.

The Fair also is offering half-price parking on Friday. Sunday is the last day of the Fair’s annual 17-day run.

Here’s the notice, e-mailed this morning to people on the Fair’s internet news list.

Wed, September 22, 2010 9:39:35 AM
Just Announced – Kids Get FREE Admission

…

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Puyallup Fair & Events Center leaders have withdrawn their proposal for a major land-use change for 219 acres of surrounding property – including 57 acres of privately owned houses and businesses – so that the fair can grow.

After continued outcry from homeowners, the fair pulled the proposal Tuesday before the Puyallup Planning Commission could make a recommendation tonight. Now, the Planning Commission won’t be considering the request tonight.

Kent Hojem, chief executive officer of the Puyallup Fair & Events Center, notified Planning Commission Chairman John Palmer Tuesday that the fair was removing its application for a Comprehensive Plan amendment.

The fair wants the area given a new designation as “events center,” which requires amending the city’s comprehensive plan.

After residents complained, fair leaders recommended shrinking the proposed area by 20 percent to about 176 acres. They planned to remove the properties of homeowners who complained the expansion of the fair could hurt their neighborhood and property values.

Then, the fair’s board of directors decided not to move forward with any proposal.

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You couldn’t blame Ronin Mausten for donning a wide smile Saturday.

Anyone with the kind of luck the 2-year-old from Tacoma had at the Washington Sportsmen’s Show would be beaming too.

Ronin, as father Gabe Mausten recalled, had 10 minutes to catch a pair of trout at the event’s trout pond for kids. He snagged the first early in his turn, but time was running out as Ronin waited patiently for his second.

Then, as if the fishing gods gave Ronin a nudge themselves, the miraculous occurred.

“The trout jumped right out toward him!” Garbriel Mausten said, seemingly still in disbelief a few minutes later. “Right at his feet.”
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Here is the number of people who attended the Puyallup Fair Sunday, as compared to the same day of the fair last year.

Below that, you can see how many people attended the Puyallup Fair during the entirety of its run, as compared to how many came to the 17-day event last year.

Sunday, September 27, 2009
2009: 88,669
2008: 77,737
Difference: +10,932

2009 total: 1,183,035
2008 total: 1,163,969
Difference: +19,066

That makes the 2009 Puyallup Fair the 19th-best attended in history of the event, which started in 1900.