Lacey Fun Fair free and packed with activities

The Lacey Spring Fun Fair might want to consider adding another adjective to its name: free.

“It’s free to get in, free to park, and free to do everything,” said Jeannette Sieler, recreation supervisor for the city of Lacey, which organizes the fair along with the nonprofit Lacey Community Events.

It’s the “do everything” part that’s key.

At the festival last spring, Xavier Dade of Lacey, then 6, was enamored of the many inflatable attractions, said his grandmother Shanda Luthy of Lacey.

“We’ve spent 30 minutes in the bounce houses,” she told The Olympian. “Anywhere else, that would be really expensive.”

This year, the bounce houses, pony rides and circus train will be back — and so likely will Xavier, who’s been a fair regular since he was a baby.

Among this year’s new attractions are the Ballistic Swings that a parent and child can ride together; the Cliff Jump Jr., an inflatable version of a cliff with a soft place to land; the Jurassic Adventure Playground, a 30-by-30-foot dinosaur-themed play area; and a three-story slide.

Also new this year is the fair’s own mascot, Leapin’ Larry. A larger-than-life frog, Larry will make his debut in Saturday’s parade around the Saint Martin’s University campus and will be available for photo opportunities.

“Frogs are springy in all kinds of ways,” Sieler said. “They hop and also that’s when they come out, in the springtime.”

Other characters at the fair will include the Mariners Moose, the Rainiers Rhubarb and the Berenstain Bears.

There’ll be lots for the young ones to do at Kidsworld, which will have more than 40 booths with art projects, games, face painting and more.

The fair also offers options for more mature folks: entertainment on two stages, a Sunday car show, booths where you can shop, and food options from espresso to shaved ice and from kettle corn to Hawaiian barbecue.

If you’d like to entertain as well as be entertained, that option is still open. It’s too late to register for the Sunday afternoon talent show, but you can still sign up for the Lip Sync Battle, which will be held while judges are picking the talent-show winners.

“We’ve added it kind of at the last moment,” Sieler said. “People can sign up at the information booth until all of the slots are filled.

It can even be Sunday morning.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 1:17 AM with the headline "Lacey Fun Fair free and packed with activities."