Cool venue. Exciting atmosphere. Lots of people in a good mood, looking for fun. How could you NOT have a good time at the Nebraska State Fair?
To a person, the folks who volunteered Aug. 31 to put on a yellow t-shirt had good things to say about their experience at the Grand Island debut. Aurora and Hamilton County has a well-known reputation for showing up when there is volunteer work to be done, so this was a win-win match of goodwill spirit from the get-go.
Jayne Mann deserves sole credit for coming up with the idea. As a member of the 1868 fund-raising committee, Mann saw the need early on for volunteers throughout the event, and took the lead in organizing a local effort to show up in mass on one specific day.
The end result was a feather in the cap for Hamilton County, and a feel-good experience for everyone who took the time to lend a hand.
I was assigned to the Kid Zone, as were many other familiar faces. The idea behind that area is to offer free activities in a fun atmosphere where parents with young kids can spend lots of time, lots of energy, but not lots of money. What a great concept.
Tuesday evening wasn’t the busiest time of the week for that age group, but it was a ball nonetheless. The looks on kids faces as they tried their hand at roping a wooden animal was worth the price of admission. I am NOT a cowboy, but decided on the spot I’ll sign up again next year just to be part of the experience.
In talking with other yellow-shirt volunteers, one consistent theme stood out. Whether they were helping as greeters, driving a courtesy cart, running the watermelon eating competition or whatever, the reviews were the same. People were having a great time, with nothing but positive things to say about what was going on around them (unless they got closed out of the Mel Tillis concert).
I showed up early for my shift and stayed late afterwards just to soak up the atmosphere and get a first-hand view of the venue and the fair itself. For starters that let me eat twice, sampling at least two of the many, many dining options.
The Beef Pit gets two thumbs way, way up, by the way, and the polish dog, loaded with onions, peppers and everything else, was fantastic. If you didn’t find something to your liking, you weren’t looking very hard.
Beyond the obvious taste test, I have to say I was more impressed than I thought I would be with the State Fair. And, I’m apparently not alone. "I’ll be back" was a phrase I heard repeatedly as I spoke with both volunteers and anonymous fairgoers. That’s a great sign, and the essence of hope for good times ahead in G.I.
The epicenter of our great state is not O Street in Lincoln, as it turns out. Central Nebraska proved that it can host a major event, especially one with an ag-based foundation.
There are quirks to work out and in reality it will take several years for the impact of the move from Lincoln to shake out, but based on the debut run the State Fair looks to have a bright future in Grand Island.
Now that was fun.
