WHEREAS, A group of Yakima business and farm leaders wishing to showcase the wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, and other farm products gained Legislative approval to have Yakima be the site of the Central Washington State Fair in February of 1892; and

WHEREAS, In 1893 the Washington State Legislature appropriated $10,000 to purchase the land where the present State Fair park is located; and

WHEREAS, In 1908 a street car line was built to the grounds so that people from all over the Northwest could come to Yakima by train, then by street car, to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Washington State Fair; and

WHEREAS, In those days, the Fair attracted visitors for the horse races, the grandstand performances, the Fair food, abundant displays of the Yakima Valley harvest, and the Indian encampment and the tribal stick games held each evening; and

WHEREAS, During the Depression it was difficult for the State of Washington to fund the Fair and in 1936 decided to discontinue the Fair until better times, the people of Central Washington determined to operate the Central Washington State Fair; and

WHEREAS, Since that year, the Fair has been held each September excluding the years between 1942 and 1946 when Kenworth moved into the grounds to build trucks for the war effort; and

WHEREAS, During those same years there were training exercises for the armed forces on the Fair grounds and the Fair buildings turned into barracks for our troops; and

WHEREAS, The Fair has given hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years in premiums for entries in various categories including foods, flower arranging, quilts, fine arts, and animal husbandry; and

WHEREAS, The Fair has encouraged our 4-H and FFA youth in displaying their skills of raising and showing their animals, their parliamentary skills, their culinary skills, and other accomplishments; and

WHEREAS, Hundreds of our Yakima Valley youth have been helped by their Fair experience and Fair premiums; and

WHEREAS, The State Fair Park has also sponsored great names in entertainment for attendees from all over the State of Washington; and

WHEREAS, The original State Fair of Washington is celebrating its 125th year of becoming a Fair and has stayed faithful to its agricultural roots and mission;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate honor the 125th anniversary of the State Fair in Central Washington and recognize its cultural and economic impacts on the State of Washington.