Olympia’s Capital Lakefair will return in July

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Olympia’s beloved Lakefair, an annual festival filled with carnival rides, food and entertainment, will take place this summer from July 13-17 in Heritage Park

The event, which began in 1957 on the shores of Capitol Lake, was postponed until August during the summer of 2020 and was then canceled altogether as the pandemic worsened.

In 2021, after failing to find an alternative site to hold the fair in Olympia, Capital Lakefair organizers announced that they had made the decision to once again cancel the festival. However, they said they were encouraged by a meeting with the Department of Enterprise Services and the city of Olympia that they would be provided financial support to help the festival survive until 2022.

Lakefair will return with its familiar carnival rides, vendors and family-friendly activities for the 2022 season. The Saturday evening parade, Sunday night fireworks show, hospitality weekend — which is targeted toward out-of-town guests — and seniors’ day, for adults 50 and older, also will happen.

But some of the festival’s past events will not return this year. The car show, which was added to the festival in 1987 and features cars, trucks and motorcycles from every era, will not happen, but Lakefair organizers said they hope to bring the event back next year. According to the Lakefair website, the opening night High School Battle of the Bands is to be determined, as well as Thursday’s Royalty Night.

Applications are still open for those groups interested in participating in the parade or selling as a vendor. The deadline for applications for the parade is Wednesday, June 1. Arts and crafts vendors have until Wednesday, June 15, and vendors selling food have until just Tuesday, May 31, to submit an application.