Ride the Historic Skyride at This Year’s Washington State Fair
The state fair ride that’s a link to the past
By Jake Laycock August 2, 2016
It may be less thrilling than the neon-lit midway rides like roller coasters, but the Washington State Fair’s Skyride is a classic.
The aerial tram, which today transports riders across the Puyallup fairgrounds, debuted more than 50 years ago at the Century 21 Exposition, aka the Seattle World’s Fair. Imported from a company in Bern, Switzerland, the Union 76 Skyride (sponsored by the gas-station chain now called simply “76”) was one of the biggest attractions at the 1962 fair.
Although some of the fair’s structures were razed or removed after the event ended in October of that year, the Skyride and many other amusements remained. Visitors continued to enjoy the views afforded by the Skyride’s 55-foot elevation until 1980, when it was sold to the Puyallup Fair, which extended its route from the original 1,400 feet to 1,600 feet. The million-plus visitors expected to attend this year’s fair (September 2–25; thefair.com) will have the opportunity to catch this historic ride.
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Studio Sessions: Jade Solomon Curtis
With an interest in how bodies retain memory, emotion, and experience, the award-winning choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Jade Solomon Curtis presents an immersive work at Seattle’s historic Union station.
Discover choreographer Jade Solomon Curtis and her immersive dance installation, Keeper of Sadness, at Seattle’s historic Union Station this August.
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If I were to summarize the sensation of attending Northwest Tune-Up, Bellingham’s three-day bike and music festival, in one image, it would be watching Tomomi Nishikubo—a Japanese street trials biker—doing acrobatic acts of derring-do on his bike while Seattle rockers Thunderpussy shred in the distance. My second lasting impression of the festival would be rounding…
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Rearview Mirror: Seattle Art Fair is Back, Nordstrom Throws a Block Party, and a Must-Try Ice Cream Sundae
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
SEATTLE ART FAIR RETURNS The buzziest event of the summer (well, aside from the World Cup), is returning next week. Now in its 10th edition, the Seattle Art Fair will once again take over the Lumen Field Event Center, packing it to the gills with art from 101 local, national, and international galleries. This year,…