The farewell tour of J.P. Patches, Puget Sound’s favorite clown for 50 years and a longtime Edmonds resident, continues this week with the opening of the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe.
The fair begins Thursday and continues through Sept. 5.
J.P. Patches will appear on the Xfinity Courtyard Stage beginning Saturday at 2 p.m. It is scheduled to be his only appearance. Due to health problems, Chris Wedes, the man behind the patchwork jacket and red nose, has announced that this will be his last year of getting out and meeting kids.
He made his final appearance at The Taste of Edmonds earlier this month and is scheduled to make a stop at Seattle’s Fishermen’s Fall Festival on Sept. 17.
The J.P. Patches Show was known for during its 23‐year run on television, from 1958 through 1981. The Emmy Award-winning show at one time had a viewership of more than 100,000 people.
According to J.P. Patches’ website, “J.P. Patches, as a Seattle icon, predates grunge music, the space needle, bitter‐overpriced coffee, huge software companies and the Kingdome. The only Seattle icons older than J.P. are slugs and geoducks.”
Fans—called “Patches Pals”—include Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and Washington State Sen. Jim McDermott.
A statue of J.P. Patches and sidekick Gertrude was erected in the Fremont neighborhood in 2008.
For more information on the Evergreen State Fair, which includes daily specials and a list of performers, go to its website.
