What's New To Do At The Puyallup Fair?

What do aerial artists, curry dishes and a 100-foot thrill ride called Vertigo have in common with Patch?

They’re all new this year at the Puyallup Fair.

If you’ve never been to the fair, of course, it’s all new. But even for those who make a visit to the fair an annual tradition, the Puyallup folks change it up a bit each year.

So alongside the usual offerings of corn dogs and cotton candy, the spinning rides, the garden produce and farm animals, and a concert lineup full of big-name acts, this year’s version of doin’ the Puyallup has some new offerings, which include:

• Big Aerial Show: Aerial artists, jugglers and acrobats—and an 85-foot swaypole.

• Curry Cousin: Sample curry from around the world, including Jamaica, Africa, Nepal, Malaysia and Singapore.

• MBS Mountainboard Big Air Show: “The MBS Big Air Demo Team brings the excitement of mountainboarding out of the mountains and into the city,” the fair folks tell us. “Catch the riders spinning, flipping and rail sliding throughout this high-energy show.”

• Iron Chef meets 4-H. Members have a chance to show off their culinary talents using a mystery ingredient. Competition is Sept. 24 -25, the last two days of the fair.

•Creative Kids Projects. New 4-H contests this year include poetry, a recycling project using shoes, an environmental project making birdhouses, and a from-scratch brownie-baking project.

• And for the daredevils, there’s Vertigo, which the fair folks describe this way: “The 100-foot tower ride can spin 24 riders at one time. Two riders each are strapped securely into 12 seats. Each seat dangles from a sturdy wire system, attached to one of 12 spires on a sphere. After every seat is filled, the sphere orbits 100 feet in the air, twirling riders at a near heart-stopping 30 miles per hour. As riders swing around the tower, they can reach heights of 100 feet – or 10 stories – off the ground!”

And when you’re done chowing down the Ellensburger at the new Stampede Grill or have returned safely from Vertigo (maybe not in that order), be sure to stop by to say hi to Patch. We’ll have a , Sept. 9-15, located between the Purple and Green gates, near Midway Boulevard and Blue Ribbon Avenue, not far from Sillyville. (Hmmm.)

If you don’t already get our daily email newsletter, sign up for it at our booth and be entered to win an iPad2, plus spin the prize wheel for Patch goodies.

See you in Puyallup!