Sisters Country Fair is a growing tradition

The 12th annual Sisters Country Fair went forward under blue skies at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration on Saturday, August 11. The event is held in conjunction with the church's annual art sale (see related story, page 3).

Music was provided by DJ Rodger Gabrielson, who treated the role like a professional... complete with facial hair that had been artistically painted on for effect.

"I have been doing this for about 10 years, and I really enjoy it. I always have a great time. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet the people of Sisters and see people having fun, to see the kids having their faces painted, seeing the puppet show at the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department (booth) and especially seeing the people enjoy the marionberry cobbler with ice cream - that is always a big hit," Gabrielson said.

"The nicest thing about the Country Fair is seeing the people of Sisters coming out to support Sisters because all the proceeds are put back into the community through community outreach programs. It is a cycle, and we get to enjoy the support of the citizens of the community and in turn get to support the citizens of the community," said Gabrielson.

Face painting was universal this year; even the Padre was sporting an image on his right cheek.

"It is really fun to get involved and show the kids that no matter how old you are you can still have a good time," said Father Ted Rodrigues. "Even clergy like to get out and have fun. Each year it has expanded a little. The kids games have really expanded this year along with the fruits and vegetables."

Although the event is sponsored by the Episcopal church, there was broader community support for the event.

"This is my third fair. I actually am a member of Saint Edward's (Catholic Church) across the road but always come over here to help," said Marlene Schuey. "We have sweet breads, all kinds of vegetables, fruits and jams. The fruits and vegetables all come from the valley, but the breads and jams are homemade by people from here."

The tent that was set up to serve lunch was sporting a new dish or two.

"We are taking orders for the fine gourmet food that we sell at the fair. The home smoked pork spareribs are new this year, and that is what I am going to have. They are also served with homemade coleslaw. But we recommend that you save room for the marionberry cobbler," said Janet Gass.

The marionberry cobbler remained as one of the key ingredients to the fun of the event, and it looked as though there would be enough to satisfy even the most jaded of cobbler aficionados.

"Our target is to sell more than last year. We hope to sell between 250 and 275 servings," said Bob Reed, as he cast a casual glance over his cobbler kingdom.

"The servings are better than ever because we put a little more stuff into it, and we have Eberhard's ice cream which is the number one ice cream in America, and they have been given an award for it. We are really happy to have them as our supplier for ice cream. We also have sundaes. We are having a lot of fun, and people are coming back for two servings."

This year brought new people to the forefront in the area of organization.

"This year was our first year being totally in charge," said Patti Bowden, who co-chaired the event with her husband Jim. "The previous years we have only been involved in set up. We really didn't do anything different, and most of our venue people are so experienced that they know what to do."

The petting zoo, puppet show and bouncing castle all entertained large numbers of young people, who promptly defected every time there was a cake walk.

"The cake walk is like musical chairs. The kids keep getting eliminated, and the final kid gets a big cake. The ones that are eliminated get a cup cake and a beanie baby so they don't cry. We have seven big cakes this year for the winners, and they all were donated by Sisters businesses," said Jeanne Simonsen.