AUGUST · LYNDEN
NW Washington Fair
One of the biggest county fairs in the state, every August up in Lynden.
Twenty minutes north of Bellingham, the dairy town of Lynden throws one of the largest county fairs in Washington every August. The Northwest Washington Fair is a full week of rodeo, livestock, carnival rides, grandstand concerts, and fair food — a slice of the county’s Dutch-farming roots that pulls crowds from three counties.
What’s there
The classics, done big: a midway of rides, barns full of prize cows and 4-H projects, a rodeo, a demolition derby, big-name grandstand acts, and more elephant ears and scones than is strictly advisable. It is the kind of fair that takes a full day to do right.
The roots of it
Lynden was settled by Dutch immigrants, and the fair has been an annual institution since the 1890s. It is where the rural and suburban parts of Whatcom County meet for a week — a reminder that this is still farm country, just up the road from the bay.
When and where
The Northwest Washington Fair runs in mid-August at the fairgrounds in Lynden, about twenty minutes north of Bellingham. Buy tickets ahead on concert nights, and wear comfortable shoes.
Thinking about life here?
Events like this are the texture of a year in Bellingham. See everything within ninety minutes of town on the interactive Fun Guide — and if you are starting to picture this as your own backyard, let us talk. I am Genaro Shaffer, a broker who actually lives this stuff.