Rice County Fair 2014 A Huge Success

Official attendance figures from the Rice County Fair will probably be revealed this week.  Regardless, the 2014 event saw some great changes.  I talked to a number of young mothers in the new Kiddieland area on the east end of the Fairgrounds and they loved moving the kiddie rides to an area away from the rest of the carnival and making it smoke free.  In addition John Isaacson told us on an edition of Fair Talk during one of our Midday Reports from the Fair having more room for machinery by the barns on the west end of the Fairgrounds was also a huge success.  The new Gillen Hall was embraced by the many folks I talked to about it.  The people that worked there were especially appreciative of the new facility.  It's added space and bathrooms were features most people mentioned.  The new Legacy Stage had some incredible free entertainment  along with the Cannon and Bruce Sellner Memorial Midway Stages.  Most of the food vendors at the Rice County Fair told me they were up in sales throughout the week, thanks in large part to the perfect weather for this year's fair.  Let's face it, when it's not oven hot you feel like eating more and being outdoors more.  I always enjoy heading to the historical end of the fair and seeing how people lived in the early 1900's and it did appear to me the crowds were bigger on that end of the grounds and the children seemed to love the old fashioned games and learning about texting 1800's style.  The Fair's new website is easy to navigate and I know the Fair Board wants to hear from people with ideas to improve the event.  Being on the Fair Board is really a thankless job and the time commitment is more than you might expect.  These people genuinely love the fair and simply want to continue the great tradition that is the Rice County Fair.  Year 142 will be here before you know it!  Lord willing I'll be attending our hometown fair again next year and I hope to see you there also.