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.

Attendance at the Puyallup Fair which ended Sunday was 1,183,03, the 19th highest tally since the fair started in 1900, fair officials announced.

The 17-day fair greeted 19,066 more people than last year. The Sept. 11 opening day attendance did set a record with 86,332, the biggest opening day crowd in fair history. Opening day included the annual Puyallup Fair Western Rodeo Parade and Cattle Drive down Main Street in Puyallup and free gate admission until noon.

Highlight features included the Al’s Brain exhibit, with 10,000 plus people submitting entries in hopes of being one of the 150 lucky winners …

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Here are how many people attended the Puyallup Fair Wednesday, as compared to the same day of the fair last year. Below that, you can see how many people in total have attended the fair so far during its run, as compared to how many came in the same period last year.

Wednesday, Sept. 24 (day13 of fair)
2009: 67,270
2008: 61,176
Difference: +6,094

Cumulative to date 2009: 862,085
Cumulative to date 2008: 891,795
Difference: -29,710

Several of my co-workers at The News Tribune have asked me to investigate whether the scones served at this year’s Puyallup Fair are smaller than those served in years past.

Here’s a photo of a scone I bought at the fair this year, followed by a photo I took last year of a scone I bought then.

Is there a difference? It’s hard to tell from this one example; this year’s scone seemed taller, while last year’s seemed flatter and wider. But perhaps they were still the same volume, just a different shape.

I was interviewing a …

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Here’s how many people attended the Puyallup Fair Tuesday, as compared to the same day of the fair last year.

Further below, you can see how many people have attended the fair so far during its 17-day run, as compared to how many visitors came during the same period last year.

Tuesday (Day 12 of fair) :
2009: 50,088
2008: 56,246
Difference: -6,158

Cumulative to date 2009: 794,815
Cumulative to date 2008: 830,619
Difference: -35,804

Here’s how many people attended the Puyallup Fair Monday, as compared to the same day of the fair last year.

Further below, you can see how many people have attended the fair so far during its 17-day run, as compared how many visitors came during the same period last year.

Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 (day 11 of fair) :

2009: 61,486
2008: 61,101
Difference: +385

Cumulative to date 2009: 744,727
Cumulative to date 2008: 774,373
Difference: -29,646

After last week’s experiment with fried food, I’m ready to change my ways for the final week of the fair.

Today I’ve been doing some research on the healthier options available.

The fair has a “Healthy Fare” menu it puts out to guide people toward options that aren’t dripping in grease or coated in sugar. The menu lists low-carb, sugar-free, vegetarian and low fat options at different food stands and restaurants at the fair.

Granted, a lot of the options are hamburgers or bratwursts without buns, which are listed as low-carb due to their lack of bread. And specific …

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