Tickets to FUN…and confusion?

With just one week to go until the Fair(!!), today is a good day to be thinking about tickets. Some suggestions:

Stop by Fred Meyer to get tickets to the Free Pancake Breakfast on Opening Day. There really needs to be better communication about this. Or maybe Freddie’s wants it to be a word-of-mouth thing? This year and last, I have not seen anything announced online or in the paper about when the free tickets for opening day are available (psst…they are available right now!). And it’s not clear how many you can get. When I stopped in at my local Fred Meyer the other day, I was told they try to limit it to 10 tickets per family. So, if you want free admission for arrival between 8am-11am on Opening Day (Friday, August 3), including a free pancake breakfast, get ye to a local Fred Meyer while ticket supplies last. Here’s some more info.

Buy discounted admission tickets. Admission this year is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (age 62+), and $7 for kids (ages 7-12; kids under 7 are free). But you can knock $2 off per ticket if you buy them early. And you can also save $1 on the $6 parking pass if you buy early. You can do this either online or at a variety of local businesses. I’m a tightwad…and my husband and I plan to attend the Fair multiple times…so I really don’t want to pay the $0.75 service fee per ticket to order them online from the Fair’s website. Instead, I prefer to get my discounted tickets in person at one of the many local businesses that have them for sale. Here’s a list.

This is another area where there needs to be better communication. I searched the web and could not for the life of me find when these tickets went on sale and what the last day to get them is. The friendly folks at Fred Meyer said they went on sale on July 19 but a sign next to the Customer Service desk said they were available starting July 1. The last day to get them is also a bit of a mystery: that same sign said you can get the discounted tickets through August 1; another sign on the desk itself said July 31; and the woman at the desk said August 2 is the last day. Soooo…get your discount tickets by July 31 just to be safe. If you are a procrastinator, maybe you’ll get lucky on August 2.

While we are on the topic of admission tickets, why oh why does the Fair not offer a season pass?? You know, something that gets you unlimited entries to the Fair and includes parking? Maybe price it so that you more than break even on your third visit. It would encourage people to come just for an event or dinner on a day they might not otherwise. I am sure the food and retail vendors would not mind the extra foot traffic. Just a thought. A yearly thought. A dream, really. Oh, Fair Season Pass, where art thou??