#3 Wagon: Deschutes County Fair; Parade (Redmond)Parade; School entry, ca 1921-24. Photo shows large number of school children riding on flatbed wagon labeled "Unfinished Product." P.M. Nash, school supt., is in foreground. Deschutes County fair parade, ca. 1921-24. Photo shows school entry, with P.M. Nash, school superintendent riding on flatbed wagon labeled "Unfinished Product."Copied by Don Ellis from Maurice Roberts Collection, 1979. print 3.5" x 5Courtesy Des Chutes Historical Society

The Deschutes County Fair & Rodeo will launch again this year and with it the Deschutes County Fair Parade, an annual tradition of the fair since its foundation in 1919. The parade used to be at the center of it all, but while the fair continues to be a key Central Oregon summer event, the parade has fallen by the wayside in recent years.

Brian Schiel, Deschutes County Fair Association Director, would like to change that.

“We hope to rebuild and revitalize the Fair Parade,” he said. “We have just begun a new partnership with Brightside [Animal Shelter] to bring out some of their animals to lead off a pet parade within the larger parade.”

According to the Deschutes County Historical Society, a parade has been a part of the fair experience since the beginning, in 1906, when the annual harvest celebration was called the “Potato Festival.”

A hundred years ago, Central Oregon was an agricultural region. Potatoes were king, the most reliable of the cash crops. The potato variety called the Deschutes Netted Gem was the regional favorite. Local schools even closed their doors during the month of October so children could help with the potato harvest.

The first potato festival, called the Redmond Potato Show, held in 1906, was the brainchild of Fred Stanley of the Central Oregon Irrigation Company. It was a marketing ploy, advertising immigration-friendly Deschutes County land (then still part of Crook County) and the high quality of area potatoes.

In 1919, the Deschutes County Fair was established, enveloping its Potato Festival predecessor and retaining some of its elements. The first Deschutes County Fair Parade kicked off the opening of the fair.

The Redmond Cornet Band led the 1919 parade. (Apparently there were enough cornet players in 1919 in Redmond to warrant a band, a feat that would be hard to duplicate today, despite a huge increase in population).

After the Cornet Band came the “Happy Farmer” tractor, pulling a seemingly empty hay wagon decorated with corn stalks and other agricultural produce. Clowns with pitchforks marched beside the wagon. (Yes, that’s right: clowns with pitchforks. Every child in Redmond had nightmares for years after that parade.)

But the pitchforks were there for a reason beyond terrifying children: The clowns used the pitchforks to uncover the “Potato King,” who was hiding in the not-so-empty-after-all hay wagon. The Potato King was a special designation given to a community leader each year for the duration of the festival. (If you can call getting poked with pitchforks by clowns a “special designation.”)

Once the Potato King was revealed, two children following the wagon dressed as bundles of grain gave the king his crown and a key to the city.

The rest of the parade consisted mostly of farmers and farm children leading prized stock through the streets of Redmond, school children representing their respective classes, private cars (a novelty in 1919), and floats from local businesses.

Almost 100 years later, the parade continues with many of the same elements, though minus the clowns with pitchforks.

“This year our theme is ‘Sew It, Grow It, and Show It,’ and we encourage all participants to build their entry with that theme in mind,” said Schiel.

Entry forms are now available on the Deschutes County Fair website. Floats will be judged for best of class in their respective divisions beginning at 9 a.m. after an initial lineup at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2.

“I love the whole event,” said Schiel. “I have been involved in some way, shape or form since I was in grade school. One of the great things about fair is the people. I moved away for many years, but almost every year I would come back to enjoy the fair and see the people. It’s like a Central Oregon reunion.

“Now in my 11th year, I can really say that I do it for the people,” he continued. “I love being a part of something that brings a little bit of joy and happiness to people. I love being there for the parade and seeing the different participants who do it up right using our fair theme. I also love the notion, tradition, of giving back to the community that my father passed on to me and will soon be passed down to my children who look forward to this event every year.”

And it’s that connection to tradition that keeps people coming back for the parade – and hopefully continues to inspire their children to return in the future. This year’s parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2.

“Spectators are encouraged to show up early in downtown Redmond as prime spaces fill up quickly,” Schiel said, adding that the corner of Sixth Street and Evergreen Avenue is a great place to enjoy the parade and listen to the commentary from long-time parade announcer RL Garrigus, accompanied by Colleen and Mike Cook (Cook and Colleen), all from KSJJ. More information plus parade entry forms can be found at www.facebook.com/DCFRParade

And if you’ve been a longtime attendee of the parade, Schiel would like to hear from you.

“The centennial of the fair is just around the corner in 2019, and we would love it if folks would send us memories and photos of old parades and the fair so we can organize and build a great tribute for the centennial,” Schiel said.

Stories and images can be mailed to the Deschutes County Fair at 3800 Airport Way in Redmond (97756) or emailed to dcfr.parade@gmail.com.