Sheboygan County Fair to showcase improvements

The 2009 Sheboygan County Fair will offer both old and new to provide fun for young and old.

The fair will run from Thursday, Sept. 3, through Monday, Sept. 7, at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds on Fairview Drive.

The biggest and most noticeable of the new on the fairgrounds is the new and expanded Education and Household exhibit building on the southwest corner of the fairgrounds.

The landmark building, one of the oldest on the fairgrounds, has been extensively remodeled and expanded.

The most obvious change is the wrap-around porch on two sides of the building, designed to blend in with the existing structure and add to its historic appearance.

“We at the Sheboygan County Fair Association consider ourselves a stimulus package for Sheboygan County,” fair manager Lois Roehl observed.

The Education and Household building, first built in 1916, also received a new roof, windows and siding, along with three accessibility ramps, two on the porch and one in the back of the building.

“The Fair Board knew the building was in bad shape and it was time to do something or lose it,” Roehl explained. “That and the Cattle Barn are landmarked buildings, part of our heritage and what the fair is about.”

With the board, the board opted to go ahead with renovations that both restored and enhanced the building.

The project led to the relocation of a number of long-standing exhibitors located on the north and west sides of the building.

Among them is The Review and Falls News, whose distinctive log cabin has been moved to underneath the grandstand, just north of the main entrance.

“There will be a lawn sign in the area (of the Education building) telling people where the booths are (now) located,” Roehl said of other exhibitors forced to move by the Education building expansion.

The porch will feature flower boxes, along with benches and tables where fairgoers can relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the fair.

The new windows include several that had been boarded up over the years, Roehl noted.

“Now there’s more natural light in there, which makes things look better, brighter and will be easier to view,” said Roehl, who pointed out that the new additions are all fir wood, “not anything artificial.”

But that’s not the only change on the fairgrounds or the only major project the fair association undertook prior to this year’s fair.

Before this summer’s racing season began, a major drainage system was installed in the racetrack pits. That ensures that more parking will be available during the fair and other fairgrounds events, Roehl said.

The fair offices were also renovated this year, according to Roehl.

All of that work, except for the electrical wiring, was done by fair employees, board members and their spouses, Roehl noted.

“That was how we spend February through May 1st. It was kind of fun.”

Another new feature for this year’s fair is yet another free music venue, the All About Music Tent, which is located parallel to the Buchholz Beef Barn on the north end of the fairgrounds. It will feature a variety of music and entertainment.

“Vendor space is up and we continue to have a waiting space for people to come in,” Roehl said. “Our machinery display continues to be real good.”

Roehl noted that attendance at other county fairs this summer has largely been either steady or increased, even with the hard economic times.

“Weather is probably the biggest deterrent,” she said of fair attendance patterns. “That is a concern, because we have had some really cool evenings so far this summer. We’re hoping they’ll put on their jackets and come to the fair.”

Daily admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children age 10 to 14 and free for children under 10. A season pass, good for all five days, is $25 with parking and $15 without parking. Parking is $3 a day.

Shuttle bus service to the Fairgrounds park will be provided Friday from the K-mart parking lot and Saturday, Sunday and Monday from the Plymouth High School parking lot.