The second-annual Sequim Public Safety Fair packs 30-plus agencies in and outside the Guy Cole Event Center this weekend to help provide information on emergency preparedness, ways to get involved in the community, and much more.
The fair — set for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the center in Carrie Blake Community Park, 202 N. Blake Ave. — follows organizers’ mission to grow awareness of local services focused on increasing public safety in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
“We are trying to appeal to all the citizens of Clallam and Jefferson (counties),” safety fair coordinator Donna Stoffel said.
“If we are individually prepared for a disaster of any kind, the better we can assist our neighbors, friends and family, which helps everyone in the community.”
The fair this year will feature 38 booths, an increase from its inaugural year, Stoffel said, and the fair includes many hands-on activities, such as fire extinguisher practice with Clallam County Fire District 3.
Visitors can also examine several agency vehicles, including fire trucks, ambulances, a helicopter, police vehicles, a LifeFlight helicopter and more at the Touch-a-Truck outside the center.
The Department of Health’s Care-A-Van will offer various vaccinations from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. during the event. Walk-ins welcome, with pre-registration encouraged at waverify.doh.wa.gov. Flu and Covid-19 vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna) will be available for people ages 6 months and older, and MPox vaccinations for those 18 years and older, along with blood sugar and blood pressure screenings.
Stoffel said there will be several children’s activities, informative safety lectures and homesteading displays, and an opportunity to connect with dozens of agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Food and door prizes will be available too, organizers said.
The fair is a collaboration between the City of Sequim, Clallam County Fire District 3 and members of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program.
The first year was more successful than organizers anticipated, Stoffel said.
“It was brought up among the captains of the CERT teams to educate the community more on how to prepare in case there was a disaster,” she said.
“We were brainstorming ways to do that and thought a fair would be a good option.”
Stoffel graduated from CERT in early 2020, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, and first helped with gathering personal protective equipment and later with vaccination and food distribution events.
“I am proud to be a part of such an impressive organization that is the Sequim Operational Area CERT,” she said.
“Having the ability to inform the community (through the fair) is very exciting.”
For more information about the Public Safety Fair, call Cindy Zechenelly at 360-504-2531.
