Small town American fairs are a cultural experience from the deep fried Oreos to the dog shows to the U.S. Army recruitment booths. It brings out the good (national pride) and the bad (racism) of rural America and puts it on display. The Northwest Washington Fair is no exception. Here's what you should know: 1) Price: It's expensive. You need a ticket to enter and then everything except the smaller shows (dog show, horse racing, etc) costs extra. An unlimited ride bracelet cost $42 per person, including for kids. Deep fried Snickers cost $8.50. The fair's margin is huge, making them a lot of money. Pro-tip- buy as much as you can online in advance to shave some money off the steep price tag. 2) Rides: It's no amusement park, but there are some decent rides fir the thrill seeker. The vertigo ride is fun if you don't get sick from spinning. The swings go high and fast. The Rock Star ride left your stomach at the top. The kids ride section my four-year-old daughter loved. 3) Games: Most are rigged I'm sure, but if you're playing to win a prize for your kids, okay the balloon one or the rubber duck game. You win a cheap stuffed animal every time. 4) Food: There's a lot of it throughout the park from burgers to corn dogs to Chinese food. A few favorites- roasted corn, "moowiches" (ice cream sandwiches), elephant ears and poffertjes (Dutch mini pancakes). It's all expensive, but alas. When in Rome. 5) Shows: my daughter loved seeing the dog show, horse shoe and the juggling. The Northwest Washington Fair is a cultural experience, but it's worth noting that we witnessed a number of staff treat people of color differently. On one ride, the staff member running the ride singled out a Black man for absolutely nothing. At the bar area, the bouncer made deeply racist remarks about the type of people who live in D.C. upon seeing my wife's drivers license. It exposes an issue in this community people would rather ignore. read more

See all

Fantastic fair! NWW Fair has something for everyone. Music, food, animals, vendors, entertainment, political nonsense, etc. You really couldn't ask for more! I enjoyed the livestock most off all. Horses, goats, llamas, pigs, etc. A little bit of everything can be found at the fair. Pricing is kind of high; you get what you pay for. $14 pays for day of entertainment. I can't imagine that organizing a large fair is cheap or easy, so try not to grumble too much. Rides are not included. Parking is also not included. Gate 5 had some decent paid parking across the street. read more

Northwest Washington Fairgrounds - Festivals Near Me - Lynden, Washington

See all

Pretty stellar if you ask me. I've been to 3 other fairs and this one makes it to the top. I love how there are a ton of horses and you can tell they are very well taken care of. One day, I'll own a horse or two. Food is always good, but don't get the Chinese food, it's nasty! Makes Panda Express gourmet. Why eat Chinese food at a fair you asked? Because as a veggie head, it was the only non-meat option. Get the big ass curly fries next door. People and exhibits are friendly... Have you've been to Santa Cruz or Monterey county fair? Nuff said. read more

See all

I have been coming to these fairgrounds since I was little. They have done a great job keeping the old fair feeling but updating facilities. There are designated smoking areas, a separate carnival for the smaller kids and a decent amount of restroom facilities. As with most fairs the food is extremely pricey. The all day wristband prices are higher than other fairgrounds and there really are not all that many rides. There is lots of grandstand shows to go to (additional cost) and they have a lot of agricultural sections. Watch around the county for pre-fair deals on entrance tickets and all day ride passes! read more

Love coming here childhood memory. It's pretty much the same as its always been. It just gets more expensive every year. I still love coming tho. This year we did more rides since the kids are bigger now. We actually skipped most of the animals for some reason the kids weren't very interested in seeing the pigs and cows. They did want to see the bunnies and chickens. Which was fine with me since that's my favorite exhibit. So the rides are fun and all but my fav part is the FOOD! There's a large BBQ stand called Piggly Wiggly the BBQ beef sandwich is sooo good. It was pretty spendy but for once a year totally worth it. And for curly fries head over to Mt. Baker Toppers for the biggest basket of handmade curly fries ever. Now with all this food I always need a lemonade, and since lemonade is best squeezed fresh I always go to Lemons on the Loose. And of coarse the best part of the food vendors is desert. Since I can't ever decide which one to have I always have both. First I get Poffertjes they are delicate, delicious handmade Dutch donut with butter and powdered sugar. If you've never had one here you haven't lived! Then I head for ice cream. It's important not to waste your time or money getting ice cream any just any place and any local would know you have to go to the Dairy Women booth that is connected to the dairy barn. The reason this ice cream is the best is because its made right there from the cows and also those cows are all cows from the area how much more local can you get. That's one way too support the community. I usually change it up tho on the flavor or type of treat i get. A moo-which is my favorite but this year I got a sundae with fresh raspberries. Oh I died and went to Raspberry Sundae Heaven. We also went to The Roar and Rumble this year that was awesome. Personally I enjoyed the FMX stunt bike part more than the monster trucks. I wanted to see some cars get crushed or something but they didn't do much. The Bikes did flips and went of a big ramp with 70 feet of space between. It was very loud so I advise buying ear plugs. We stayed until it closed ending they night with a quick ride on The Orbiter. Until next year NWWF. read more

They definitely need more benches by the carnival for the parents to sit at. I didn't see any benches anywhere for me to sit for my 3 kids. It would also be nice if they had canopies or umbrellas, so us pale Washingtonians don't burn every year. read more

My favorite fair in the state every year. We love to go to the demolition derby each time. What this fair lacks in substance it more than makes up in small town charm. Every year it almost feels like you are joining in on a giant family reunion. read more

We came from Canada across the Sumas Border 16 Aug 2018 and found the Lions Club members parking us at a mall center very near the fair grounds. This was a very nice location for 7.00, short walk for seniors. We always each year try to get to the grounds before noon as we like the noon horse, mutton show and sometimes a little more entertainment. This is free with your admission, great for one hour. We enjoyed seeing the different horses in the barns first and seeing how they harness them up to pull the wagons. But this year it appear a little shorter events as we missed the horse team chuck wagon races. We saw the mutton kids riding, three, and horse pole races but that was all. We have enjoyed previously the main singer, or one armed bandit, tractor pulls and much more usually. The ground peoples events were situated different and we thought smaller amount of booths. No old cars, tractors, birds, wild animals, and I hope they have more events next year. It is a very friendly family event and well worth it for the price and many animal pets for the children. We'll have to stay longer as the food stations are very good and we will have to see a car derby or rodeo. But the long wait and line up at the border is very discouraging. Hope to come next year but see more events at the noon show. Happytravels. read more