Puyallup is famous as the home of the Puyallup Fair (Meridian St. and 9th Ave. SW, 253/841-5045, www.thefair.com), officially known as the Western Washington Fair. One of the nation’s 10 largest, the fair runs for 17 days in September (starting the Friday after Labor Day) and attracts a crowd of more than 1.2 million fairgoers to its top-flight concerts, livestock displays, a PRCA rodeo, carnival rides, and refreshments. Don't miss the justly famous raspberry scones.

The Spring Fair and Daffodil Festival (253/627-6176, www.daffodilfestival.net) is another of Puyallup’s well-known attractions. Sponsored by the region’s bulb farms, and in existence since 1934, it’s a two-week series of events throughout Pierce County; the Grand Floral Parade (the third-largest parade of flowers in the nation) heads through Puyallup, Tacoma, Sumner, and Orting.

A big summer event is the outdoor production of Jesus of Nazareth in Puyallup’s open-air amphitheater (14422 S Meridian, 253/848-3411), performed at 8 p.m. every Friday and Saturday from the third weekend in July through Labor Day. In this, one of seven major passion plays in the country, the cast of hundreds is assisted by horses, cows, sheep, pigeons, and a donkey.