Clark County Fair straddles the past, future

• What: 147th Clark County Fair.

• Where: 17402 N.E. Delfel Road, Ridgefield.

• When: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. today; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays Aug. 8 and 15; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays Aug. 9 and 16 and Monday through Thursday, Aug. 10 through 13. Carnival opens at 9 a.m. opening Friday and noon all other days. Barns close early on Tuesday and the final Sunday.

• Cost: $11; $9 for seniors; $8 for ages 7 to 12; free for ages 6 and younger. Parking is $6 per vehicle.

• Information: www.clarkcofair.com or 360-397-6180.

Opening Friday: Free admission until noon with voucher from local Fred Meyer stores; free pancake breakfast served until 11 a.m.

Aug. 10: Family Day, $6 admission for ages 7 to 12.

Aug. 11: Military Appreciation Day, $7 admission with military ID.

Aug. 12: Prime of Your Life Day, $7 senior admission.

All evening concerts begin at 7 p.m. and are free with general admission. Reserved floor seating (including fair admission) costs $25-$35.

Aug. 7: Kansas.

Aug. 8: John Kay & Steppenwolf.

Aug. 9: Montgomery Gentry.

Aug. 10: The Guess Who.

Aug. 11 is “Take Me Back Tuesday” with tribute bands appearing afternoon into evening, for free with general admission, at the grandstand stage:

4 p.m.: British Export (Beatles).

6 p.m.: Ramble On (Led Zeppelin).

8 p.m.: Stone in Love (Journey).

2 p.m. Aug. 12: Mutton bustin’.

7 p.m. Aug. 12: Bull riding.

2 and 7 p.m. Aug. 13: Moto X.

2 and 7 p.m. Aug. 14: Demo derby.

2 and 7 p.m. Aug. 15: Tuff trucks.

2 and 7 p.m. Aug. 16: Monster trucks.

From caped crime-fighting crusaders to bouncing baboons, from tournaments of wizardry to wolfing down hot dogs, from splashing sea lions to mechanical mashup monsters — the Clark County Fair has it covered.

As always, Clark County’s 147th annual “summer’s best party” will keep one foot squarely in tradition and another foot heading for the future. Where else can you find farm animals and carnival barkers alongside creatures from the deep and visitors from the stars?

Of course, the latter creatures will be role-played by costumed humans — we’re pretty sure — who will flock to the new Superhero Adventure as well as the well-loved FairCon. The former is a sprawling noir cityscape that’s torn straight from the pages of your favorite comic book world. It will include coloring, a puppet show and costume and mask-making for the smaller kids, plus a realistic superhero movie set featuring everything you need for a great superhero photo shoot: crashed car, blighted buildings, other gritty props and even a cast of fully costumed walk-around actors.

But if you want to learn some of the hard facts behind superheroics — for example, how many calories would it take to unleash a bolt of lightning? How fast would Superman actually have to fly to stay in orbit? — check out the superhero science museum.

Maybe best of all, contractor Vendetta Productions has custom-designed a Lazer Tag shooting gallery that’s entirely gun-free, because you’ll be using glove-mounted hand blasters, according to Vendetta co-owner Kyle Paradis.

Of interest to the same crowd will be FairCon, a gaming, anime and science fiction mini-convention offering a smorgasbord of tournaments and contests, in which you’ll be able to test your gaming edge as well as your costume-tailoring skills. From “Magic the Gathering” to “Halo” and “Call of Duty,” there’s a popular game for everyone.

Meanwhile, right next door, the fair will continue to celebrate Clark County roots in farming and four-legged friends.

“My challenge is to keep it agricultural and traditional like a county fair should be, but also keep it relevant to what’s popular with kids,” said Clark County Fair Manager John Morrison during a behind-the-scenes tour earlier this week. “So you’ve got a barn next to a rock-climbing wall. You’ve got superheroes next to the world-famous Dairy Women’s milkshake booth!”

And, you’ve still got some popular animal acts. Monkeys, parrots, sea lions, exotic tropical animals and even honey bees will all take star turns in exhibitions that Morrison said are part entertainment and part education.

Other stars appearing at the fair are world famous: bands such as Kansas, the Guess Who and Steppenwolf will appear on the grandstand stage for no additional charge beyond fair admission — unless you want to spend a few extra bucks for a reserved floor seat. Otherwise, the music is included.

There’s plenty more music and other entertainment all day long on The Columbian’s community stage, too.

True, the price of admission has gone up a whole dollar. But marketing manager Matt Ferris pointed out that the fair held its costs down throughout the entire Great Recession.

“We kept it the same at the gate for all those years,” Ferris said. “When people were hurting, we prided ourselves on keeping the cost down. Now, gas is cheaper, and jobs are more plentiful, and people are feeling a little better. We were overdue to raise the gate!”