Wisconsin Fairs Are Preparing for a Fun-Filled 2021 Fair Season
In partnership with: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Bringing together communities and celebrating Wisconsin’s agriculture industry, state, county and district fairs are an essential part of the state’s summer line-up.
In fact, they are so essential that, although the 2020 Wisconsin State Fair was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers pivoted to share the same fun, education and entertainment that the public enjoyed in previous years – but in an entirely new way.
“This was the first time the Wisconsin State Fair was canceled in 75 years,” says Kathleen O’Leary, CEO of Wisconsin State Fair Park. “It was a heartbreaking decision to make, but we know we made the right call. By turning our focus to innovation, we came up with a 12-component plan based on what we called the overarching state fair necessities that made it possible for us to safely engage with the public while keeping the magic of the fair alive.”
See more: How Wisconsin Fairs Promote and Support Local Agriculture
The most prominent part of the plan was the Fair Food Drive-Thru, which took place for 16 days over four weeks and stretched for more than two miles through the Milwaukee Mile and State Fair Park in West Allis. Along the way, vendors served up crowd-favorite foods like deep-fried candy bars, corndogs, baked potatoes and the fair’s iconic cream puffs.
The 2020 Wisconsin State Fair also offered an online agricultural scavenger hunt, celebrated Agricultural Appreciation Day virtually with social media followers and honored 154 Wisconsin farms through the Century Farm Awards Program.
Additionally, O’Leary and her team created an exhibitor spotlight initiative for junior livestock exhibitors and adults that participated or competed at the fair for more than 10 years. It was so successful that it will also be part of the 2021 Wisconsin State Fair.
“Since January 2021, when the Wisconsin State Fair Park Board of Directors declared there would be a 2021 fair, we have been working tirelessly to prepare for a safe, clean, fun event, and we are excited to be back,” O’Leary says.
Wisconsin’s county fairs are also looking forward to in-person events in 2021 and are scheduled to take place from late June to mid-September.
“Plans are still being finalized, but each of our 74 county and district fairs are working closely with staff, volunteers, vendors, sponsors and community officials to ensure a successful fair season,” says Jayme Buttke, executive secretary of the Wisconsin Association of Fairs.