OK SK, chew on this:
Where are we as a community and a nation heading in where we get our food and how we consume it?

I bring this up as the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede is set to run Wednesday through Sunday at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds.

Before there was the Kitsap County Fair, there were community fairs organized by small agricultural cooperatives.

Early in its history, what became the Kitsap County Fair was held in Port Orchard (so much for the South Kitsap connection). The Kitsap County Fair started in 1947, and this year the fair is celebrating its 60th Anniversary, even as the county celebrates its first 150 years or Sesquicentennial.

Parks & Recreation Director Chip Faver said that, although there may not be any mega farms around here, agriculture is thriving. He also addressed the value of agricultural activities, saying, “As PlayStations and the Internet invade the time that our youth have available to them, this focus on agriculture brings us back to our American heritage.”

In response to an article on the fair that ran in today’s Kitsap Sun, Carolyn Schuster of a local 4-H group wrote that indeed people, especially the young people she works with, are involved in agricultural pursuits even as the county transitions to a more suburban and, in places, urban, environment.
“My group is in poultry and believe it or not, most of the members live in suburban neighborhoods but have found chickens to be an ideal backyard pet (providing they don’t crow!),” said Schuster.

So here’s the question of the day (actually a cluster of related questions):
What’s the importance of agriculture to you and your family?
Do you have a backyard garden (or even a container garden) where you like to get some dirt under your fingernails?
Do you have livestock large or small?
Do you have a plot in a community garden?
How much of you family’s grocery list is covered by a backyard garden or livestock?
Do you live a suburban or urban setting?
Do you sense any backlash against the predictability of so-called “industrial foods” i.e. the fare offered up by fast food chains and even picture perfect fruits and veggies available year ’round?

Rock the Woods is at 6 p.m. tonight at McCormick Woods

The late Randy Johnson was my oldest kid’s soccer coach. The kind and encouraging way he had with the boys was just part of what made Randy a really great guy.
Randy died in October, 2001 of melanoma, a form of skin cancer that is very difficult to treat. His widow, Coreen Haydock Johnson, who now heads up the Chamber of Commerce, has kept Randy’s memory alive through the Randy G. Johnson Melanoma Research Foundation, which raises money through various events to help find a cure for this difficult disease.

This weekend, the foundation in conjunction with McCormick Woods Golf Course will present the second annual Rock the Woods Concert, featuring, The Relay, a tribute band of The Who. If you remember listening to The Who, you’re probably an old phart like me. If you’re too young to remember, now is the time to begin your education in classic rock.

Gates open at 6 p.m., and the music starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 or $10 with student ID. Or reserve VIP SEATING for you and 5 of your friends — reserved seating and table service with complimentary soft drinks for a $240 donation.

Tickets are available online at www.rgjohnsongolfmem.golfreg.com , at Kitsap Mall, McCormick Woods Golf Course and Puget Sound Wine Cellar or can be purchased at the gate. A beer garden and barbeque concession will be available at the concert.

Here’s more on the event:

The Relay is comprised of Jim Ferguson as Roger Daltrey, Jim Kennelly as John Entwistle, Rick Dean as Pete Townshend and Brett Rudy as Keith Moon. The Relay Web site www.whostherelay.com describes the Who as the “greatest live rock and roll band ever…The Who never followed trends, they created them. They were all substance…always original…While other bands focused on familiarity, popularity and commercialism…The Who were energy, melding with their audience, bathed in volume and light, transcending music itself into a sublime spirituality. The Relay is not an ‘Oldies Act’..it is sharing the supreme ideal that music is healing, that music can make you young again and… that music can unite us “. The Relay’s song list of 68 The Who hits includes: My Generation, Won’t Get Fooled Again, Gettin’ In Tune, Magic Bus, From the Rock Opera Tommy, I Can See for Miles, Squeeze Box, Pinball Wizard and many more!

All proceeds from the concert, sponsored by Suquamish Clearwater Casino, McCormick Woods and Port Orchard Independent, will benefit melanoma research. The Randy G. Johnson Melanoma Research Foundation has been raising funds for melanoma research for over 6 years in memory of Randy Johnson. The foundation in his name raises funds each year through the Randy G. Johnson Golf Memorial and the Rock the Woods concert. The not for profit group has raised almost $85,000 for melanoma research in six years.

For more information, call Coreen Haydock Johnson at (360) 895-1708, e-mail corrand1@wavecable.com or log onto www.rgjohnsongolfmem.golfreg.com

P.S. If you haven’t gotten your fill of music, it’s time to “Kick the City off Your Shoes!” at the Olalla Bluegrass Festival, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, at the Olalla Ball Field.