2008 President

Bob Barnes

For the past 50 years, volunteers in our community have worked to put on Capital Lakefair.  Their goal has always been to give the community a week of activities designed to appeal to everyone – fireworks, a parade, a scholarship program, music and dances, carnival rides and a variety of concession that support many local non-profit groups.

No one would dispute that the cost of running the city government has increased.  It’s probable that the costs of the city to support Lakefair have risen as well. To city officials, a community festival may look like an extraneous event that does not deserve the support of public tax dollars.  And to the city officials, it may be difficult to quantify the spirit and sense of community such a festival provides.

But a city is more than its roads and police and fire departments and new buildings.

A city is its people.  A city is a community that needs time to celebrate and to come together, much like a family does.  That spirit also may be difficult to quantify.  But it is real.  And it is real important to the stability and morale of a community.

In a financial sense, community festival volunteers have figures that show Lakefair is an economic benefit to the city.  Those figures should be taken into account when trying to quantify how much value the festival brings to the community.

Many non-profit groups benefit greatly from being concessionaires at Lakefair.  Not only are they an integral part of the glue that bonds the community together, the work of many of them helps support the community so that the burden does not fall on City Hall.  The money these local non-profit groups raise stays in Thurston County and helps these groups serve citizens in need.

The streets are busy during Capital Lakefair.  While some businesses might see a decline in business other see as much as a 40 percent spike.

We would be glad to work with any business that believes they are adversely affected by Lakefair to come up with ways that they might take an active part in serving the many thousands of visitors who attend the five-day festival.

In short, this is a festival that provides much enjoyment, benefits local non-profits and businesses, brings people together and brings money into city coffers.  We hope it can continue into the next 50 years and beyond.  We want to be allies with city hall in bringing the community together – not adversaries in tearing apart one of its longest traditions.

We owe the people of this community no less than our best efforts to make sure this festival – their festival – remains part of the fabric long into the future.