The Washington State Fair, long known as the place to “Do the Puyallup,” has long been the superlative showplace of the biggest, brightest, boldest, best tasting, most breathtaking of all things Organic, from blue-ribbon farmland creatures and other exotic animals, to harvest record-breaking fruits and vegetables, to pulse-quickening thrill rides.
This year’s edition has unveiled a kaleidoscopic range of, dare we say, illuminating electronic attractions, starting with a new digital guide in the form of newly designed responsive Website and Mobile App from Ply Interactive, the happy folks who keep winning awards from the Washington Wine Commission.
The Fair App lets you plan your day at the Fair and create your own itinerary synched with your desktop using your Facebook login. You can also buy admission or concert tickets, get interactive driving directions and “find your car” parking assistance, even view the Washington State Fair Instagram photo-feed, all from your Smartphone. Here are a couple of highlights to read while downloading.
• Crazy’s World’s 5D Adventures, free with admission to “The Fair,” this attraction immerses visitors in an interactive, multimedia experience where 3D glasses brings imagery to life as you navigate through a fantasy world of forestry, sea life and more.
• Luminasia, as seen in this photo gallery or this 3-D rendering, has taken the traditional form of Chinese lantern making and modernized it into the 21st Century. Conceived and produced by International Special Attractions, it is an incomparable display of glowing light and color, combining high-tech material and state-of-the art lighting and production techniques. The result is a beautiful, fun, immersive, and 
larger-than-life “East meets West” exhibition. Covering over two acres of outdoor space, this marvelous walk-through exhibit showcases Washington state landmarks combined with traditional Chinese icons, all glowing from within. Over 23,000 state-of-the-art bulbs are used to illuminate this fascinating spectacle.
• Rainier Rush is Washington State Fair’s newest roller coaster! Coast down from 60 feet in the air, speeding along winding tracks and sudden curves at speeds up to 50 mph. This looping inversion coaster will leave you exhilirated at a +5.8 gravity force.
Get in on all the fun, from September 6th through the 22nd, visit thefair.com [24×7]
TechFlash Cup Finalists Announced — Watch and Vote Starting Sept 16th
The Puget Sound Business Journal has announced its 16 finalists for their TechFlash Cup, a competition that features Seattle-area startups.
The competition will kick off on Monday, Sept. 16, when the TechFlash Cup voting site will go live. Each startup’s founders will attempt to win your vote with a brief video outlining their vision. Readers can vote once a day, every day for the company or companies they like best. And every Monday at 9 a.m., the two companies with the fewest cumulative votes will be eliminated.
After six weeks of voting, the top four vote-getters will then advance to a live pitch competition at the Triple Door on Nov. 21, which the public is welcome to attend. The judges – five of the Seattle area’s most well-known investors and entrepreneurs – will give instant reality-show-style feedback to the startups after each pitch, giving the audience and startups the opportunity to learn what investors look for in a startup pitch.
And the Nominees are:
Apptentive — a mobile-app feedback system for companies that communicate with app customers by getting feedback within the app
Clipsi — allows employees to instantly grab clips and excerpts from any source and put them on organized bulletin boards where teams can come together to discuss them.
Duxter — a social networking site for video gamers
EDUonGo — a mobile-friendly software system to help schools manage their online classes through a cloud-based platform
GIVINGtrax — a cloud-based system to track workplace charitable giving.
Grayl — a sleek-looking, simple-to-use stainless steel water filtration cup that works like a French press to filter out toxins, chemicals and bacteria from water by just pressing down on the top of the cup.
HelloSprout —a seed-ordering and software company that helps customers learn which varieties of seeds are best for their region, and provides alerts about when to plant, fertilize and harvest them.
Illumagear — makers of the Halo Light, a lighting system that wraps entirely around a construction worker’s hardhat to provide light and increase the worker’s visibility in low-light settings.
Jintronix — a physical therapy system that uses the Xbox Kinect motion-tracking camera t
OFunnel — a service that helps businesses use their employees’ existing connections and networks to find talent and sales leads on social media to help them grow their business.
OkCopay — a database of physicians and services to help patients compare the cost of medical procedures in a geographic region and find the clinic or hospital with the best price.
PetHub — a lost-pet location system by adding QR codes, websites and near-field communication to pet ID tags. The system connects the person who found the pet with the owner and gives the owner the GPS location of the pet.
SNUPI Technologies — an in-home sensor that uses existing electrical wires in a house to alert homeowners when it detects water, mold conditions, temperature changes and other issues.
Synch — a mobile software system that helps distribution and manufacturing companies manage their inventory by syncing with a back-end office system for real-time inventory tracking.
Tether Technologies — an electronic key tether that alerts the owner when a set of keys is more than 15 steps from the owner. The goal is to prevent building managers and cleaning companies from losing sets of master keys.
TINYhr — a weekly survey system called TINYpulse for employers to get anonymous feedback on how employees feel about their workplace, helping businesses retain workers and maintain a good corporate culture. [24×7]
