Animals, entertainment and exhibits. Games, rides and shows. The excitement of the carnival midway. Friends, neighbors and memories.

At the fair, we show off our prowess for creating, growing, making, raising and showing. How fitting that this year’s fair theme is “Locally Grown.”

The San Juan County Fair is next week: Aug. 18-21. The premium book is available online. You can get the annual fair guide in the Aug. 18 Journal. SanJuanJournal.com will cover the fair online. And you can stay on top of fair events with The Daily Fair, covering each day’s highlights and thrills. Pick one up each fair day at The Journal/Sounder/Weekly booth in the main exhibit hall or at the fair gates.

It seems like the county fair always comes just when we need it most. With elections behind us and before us, with summer racing by and a school year racing toward us, with government budget woes overshadowing us, we need the fair.

This annual event grounds us. It brings us home to what’s most important: Our shared identity and our sense of community. It’s a time for us to play together, to be creative, and to compete against as well as cheer for our neighbors. It’s a time for us to take comfort that we can still produce sustenance from the soil.

All of it plays out at the San Juan County Fair.

Some 22,000 people attend the annual fair and enjoy four full days of excitement, entertainment and friendly competition.

There are some new features at this year’s fair. Be sure and visit the Green Village in the Triangle Exhibit Area in front of the main arena. Hourly, there are presentations on this special place we live in, and on how we can be good caretakers of the environment that sustains us.

Kids Day is two days again this year. On Thursday and Friday, children can ride all the rides they want from noon to 5 p.m. for $20.

Speaking of rides, two big favorites are reportedly back: The Zipper and the bumper cars. There are plenty of “kiddie” rides too.

The fair’s stages will feature the best of local entertainment, as well as a special headliner this year: The Clumsy Lovers, a bluegrass/Celtic rock group touring the western states to promote their latest album, “Make Yourself Known.” The Orlando Weekly wrote of Clumsy Lovers, “Some people see this Vancouver combo as a messed-up bluegrass band. Others see a messed-up Celtic group. Still others see a messed-up rock band. With a little something for everybody, the one consistent element the Lovers bring to every show is a riotous good time.”

Once again, 4-H members will command the spotlight, as they deserve. Most 4-H’ers spend the year preparing for the fair, producing arts and crafts, preserving food, growing crops, honing their horseback riding and photography skills, and spinning and weaving. There are about 40 4-H categories.

County fairs have always been showcases of our innovation, our collective progress, a place where memories are made. Don’t miss it.

— Contact Richard Walker at 360-378-5696 or rwalker@sanjuanjournal.com.