Spokane Interstate Fair family fun roundup

Fri., Sept. 11, 2015

If you go

Hours: 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday through Sept. 19; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 20.

Where: Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, 404 N. Havana St.

Admission: $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and children 7 to 13, free for children 6 and younger.

Deals: Today, law enforcement officers, firefighters and members of the military get in free.

Bringing the grandparents? Take them Monday when it’s free for seniors.

And on the final day of the fair, Sept. 20, donate a child’s coat to the Coats 4 Kids Drive and get one free child admission.

Parking: Free parking is available in the South Lot, accessible from Havana, south of the ballpark. Parking is $5 a day in the paved Main Lot, also accessible from Havana. Handicapped-accessible spaces are available in both lots.

Rodeo: 7 p.m. today and Saturday; admission is $5-$8, plus gate entry. The rodeo features bareback riding, barrel racing, bull riding, steer wrestling and roping. It’s sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.

Entertainment: Free concerts, comedy and magic acts will take place around the fairgrounds.

Bigger acts, requiring bigger tickets, will be on the Grandstand: Some of the stars of “Duck Dynasty” take the stage Sunday, Air Supply on Monday, Craig Morgan with Dan + Shay on Tuesday, The Guess Who on Wednesday, and Cheap Trick on Thursday.

For tickets and times, visit the fair website or www.ticketswest.com.

Demolition Derby: 7 p.m. Sept. 19 and 4 p.m. Sept. 20. Tickets are $5-$8, plus gate entry.

Carnival rides: The main carnival opens at 3 p.m. weekdays, noon on Saturdays and Sundays; the Kiddyland Carnival opens at noon daily. Bracelets for unlimited rides for one day are $30, with a $2 discount for Monday-Thursday nights. Individual ride coupons are $1, 25 coupons are $23 and 80 are $70. Rides require three to five tickets. Height and weight restrictions apply – children must be at least 36 inches, taller for most rides.

Info: www.spokanecounty.org/fair/sif/

The 2015 Spokane County Interstate Fair opens today for its 10-day run.

“There’s so many different things to do,” said Rich Hartzell, director of the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, listing animals, a petting farm, rides, pig races, mutton busting and commercial exhibits.

“It is so diverse and so family-oriented,” he said.

The truck and tractor pull is back this year after a several year absence, Hartzell said. It’ll be at 7 p.m. Sept. 18; tickets are $5-$8, on top of gate admission.

“Knowing that Spokane is quite a motor sport town, we decided that this would be quite appealing,” he said. “There will be earplugs available; it does get a little loud.”

The carnival will have a couple of new rides, including Rock Star, set up just inside the main gate. “It swings you back and forth at a high rate of speed and almost takes you full circle,” Hartzell said.

His best tip for families: “Come early in the day. You’ll be able to get in quicker and get right to the gates.”

A new left turn signal for people traveling west on Broadway Avenue will make it easier to turn onto Havana Street and get to the fairgrounds, Hartzell said.

And those who are headed to the petting farm or the KiddyLand Carnival may want park in the south parking lot and enter through the south ticket gate – right next to those areas, he said.

With so much to see, Hartzell, said, “I don’t know that you can take in everything in one day.”

Kimberly Lusk