Grays Harbor County Fair offers more than usual fare

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

The Grays Harbor County Fair might be the only place outside of the Florida Everglades or the Louisiana bayou where you can pet an alligator and then eat one 100 yards apart.

The Southern Georgia Boys traveled all the way from, you guessed it, Southern Georgia to add their brand of carnival and fair selections to the cornucopia of delectable nosh options. Of course, the fair featured the usual suspects such as elephant ears, funnel cakes, BBQ and corn dogs as well.

The Fair’s expansive food court is strategically located near the entrance to the fairgrounds and it doesn’t take long for your nostrils to come under assault from the aromas emanating from all manner of cookeries that line the shaded picnic area. From fried pastry covered with cinnamon sugar to grilled meats of every variety, the food court offers something for everyone … delicate constitutions beware.

An assortment of pricey Greek, Asian, German, Mexican and very American food vendors found varying degrees of success as the days wore on throughout the Fair but the allure (and sizzling aroma) of the Southern Georgia Boys menu was hard to resist as they routinely sold out of gator by mid-afternoon.

Clayton Singletary of the Southern Georgia Boys says they came to the Pacific Northwest because they “ain’t never done it. So, why not? We do all types of food, German food, Greek food, our pride and joy is our (Cajun) seafood. We’ve wanted to do it, we’ve never been on the West Coast.”

Although food from the deep south might be a bit unusual for a county fair in the Pacific Northwest, veteran acrobatic comedy performer Roberto the Magnificent says gator isn’t the strangest thing he’s seen on the circuit.

“I was at a fair and they actually had deep fried butter, butter balls that were battered up and sprinkled with sugar,” Roberto said. “In Idaho, they have an ice cream potato, which is a chocolate shell that looks like a potato skin, they fill it with ice cream and whipped cream, and they make it look like a baked potato. It’s so good, they’re so yummy.”

In and Out Shack out of Montesano actually offered a deep fried banana split.

There is no word on whether the Southern Georgia Boys and the Northwest Animal Sanctuary have discussed restocking the gator on a stick supply.