The Nez Perce County Fair took place over 4 days, September 18 – 21, and NPC Dems had an active, visible presence with a corner booth in the main pavilion. We handed out some literature, caught up with old acquaintances, answered some questions, and had some interesting interactions with people stopping by the booth.
Our “garbanzo bean poll” was a great conversation starter. We had 18 mason jars labelled with current issues, like “affordable housing” and “access to health care and Medicare”. We invited people to drop three garbanzo beans in the jars that represented the issues that were most important to them. Almost 1,000 people dropped some beans. (See the poll results here.)
Particularly encouraging for several volunteers were the conversations they had with young people. One volunteer commented “Very impressed & hopeful to also note that many young people are taking the ‘garbanzo poll’ very seriously! One 11 or 12 year old voted for affordable housing, saying ‘By the time I’ll grow up there won’t be any’. Wow!”
Another volunteer who was working the booth for the first time commented on the reactions he saw from people passing by the booth. “I got the same impression at the fair that I got during the rodeo parade a few days back – there are a lot of people who are sympathetic to our message, who might not have been in years past, and who show it in different ways. While die-hard Democrats can be very demonstrative (standing along the parade route, waving and cheering or enthusiastically coming to the booth to talk with us), others express their interest in more subtle ways (a furtive wave of the hand, so the neighbors won’t see it, or a nod and a smile, talking with us at arm’s length or dropping beans in the jar after some coaxing).”
Our presence at the fair would not have been possible without the time and energy of our volunteers, several of whom worked multiple shifts at the booth. So a big THANK YOU to the folks who showed up, helped us set up and tear down, and who spent time talking with fairgoers.
2025 Fair Volunteers:
- Dan Anderson
- Bob Blakey
- Nancy Chastain
- Vickie Fadness (special thanks for working 3 shifts!)
- Carol Fletcher
- Pete Gertonson
- Quentin Graham
- George Grenley
- Helen Hawley
- Deena Heath
- Suzi Hyde
- Mike Johnston
- Laura Law
- Helen LeBoeuf
- Missy McLaughlin
- Jerry Northrup
- Victoria Nostrant
- John Rusche
- Bill Schreib
- Linda Scott
- Julie Sutton
- Molly Steele
- Sharon Taylor
- Patty Weeks
- Robyn Wendy
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