Pavilion is among new features at Porter County Fair

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

A new pavilion is waiting to greet visitors to the Porter County Fair, which begins Thursday.
The permanent pavilion replaces a tent used for free entertainment, the veterans recognition program and other events.
1st Source Foundation provided a $50,000 grant to help construct the pavilion, named The Pavilion: Your 1st Source for Entertainment.
Porter County Agricultural Society Secretary Holly King, who led the fundraising effort, said the pavilion will see a ceiling installed after the fair is over. It has open sides to let breezes through.
'It's a good place for people to take a break with their kids,' King said.
She's happy with the permanent structure. 'Every year we put up a tent, and we just wanted something for the community,' she said.
The 60 feet by 66 feet structure will be a savings, too, with the fair no longer having to pay thousands of dollars to rent the tent that was previously used.
'We started planning it right after the fair last year,' she said.
The stage isn't brand new, but it has been used only twice, Fair Director Dave Bagnall said. The stage had been put up for auction with the seller asking $40,000 for it, he said. Bagnall put in a bid, but no bid met the minimum. The Ag Society ended up paying a fraction of the asking price.
Look around at the fairgrounds, and you'll see a large number of buildings. All except the Expo Center and Expo East were built by the Ag Society, which maintains the buildings in lieu of rent. The county owns the fairgrounds.
The pavilion is just one of the changes this year. Every year, after the fair is over, fair officials talk about what could be improved. 'We're always looking to improve ourselves and make ourselves better,' Bagnall said.
This year, there will be fewer food vendors to allow people to circulate more freely. The vendors are top quality, Bagnall said. 'We hand-select them to make sure they have a great product at a fair price.'
Visitor experience is important. Knowing that food vendors need to be able to process electronic payments, a separate Wi-Fi network has been set up exclusively for their use. 'Cash isn't king anymore,' Bagnall said, which, for security reasons, is a blessing.
Porter County Fair's average annual attendance is about 150,000 and growing every year, King said. Bagnall puts the fair among the top five in the state in terms of attendance, revenue and 'making people happy.'
'People come to our fair and say, Wow, this place is really clean, and they feel safe,' he said. The fair hires about 50 county police officers throughout the 10-day fair to provide security.
'We have the largest carnival operator in the United States,' North American Midway, Bgnall said. The Farmland, Indiana-based company has 260 rides companywide, requiring 850 vehicles to transport everything. Imagine the time it takes to buy license plates for 850 vehicles, Bagnall said.
Something else new this year is the Northern Indiana Historical Power Association's village. A corn sheller used to remove the dried kernels from the cob will be in use during multiple daily demonstrations. Corn shellers were rendered obsolete by combines.
The fair is all about the 4-H'ers and their exhibits, of course, but the grandstand acts are what draw people.
Christian Lembke, a teacher at Washington Township, was supervising students setting up chairs Tuesday in front of the bleachers while another crew set up the large stage.
'We're going to try to get all the chairs set up today,' he said.
King doesn't like to use the 'R' word, but weather happens. 'We don't want anybody to get wet,' she said, so she and others have been known to use towels to wipe off seats before a show. Last year, they had help from people waiting to be seated who grabbed towels to wipe off chairs on the way to their seats.
'There's not a bad seat in the house,' King said.
All told, the grandstand seating is more than 8,000, she said. That's good. Because there have been about 8,000 tickets already sold for Zach Top, a TikTok fan favorite, and more than 6,000 for Lauren Diagle. Other concerts feature Jordan Davis, Ludacris and Maddox Batson. In addition, grandstand shows include the traditional rodeo, tractor pull, demolition derby and monster trucks. A combine derby will join the bus derby at the fair.
'We spend well over $1 million on entertainment, and we want to make sure we recover that money,' Bagnall said. He has been booking acts for the fair for the past 15 years.
Performers can have weird acts sometimes, like insisting all their M&Ms be green or a puppy to play fetch with, but the contract riders this year don't have anything unusual. 'They always want to go to the gym and maybe play golf,' Bagnall said.
During the concerts, fair officials hold an auction, selling guitars, shoes and other memorabilia to raise funds for the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. Add that money to the 15,000 pounds of meat donated each year, and that's $133,000 donated to the food bank, Bagnall said.
Admission is $10 per person for everyone age 10 and older. Children 9 and younger are admitted free. Admission is free for everyone before noon.
On Monday, Kankakee Valley REMC customers can get $2 off admission by showing their bill. On Tuesday, individuals with special needs and a companion are invited to ride carnival rides for free from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Lights will be dimmed and sound reduced for a sensory-friendly environment.
On Wednesday, seniors 62 and older and veterans will be admitted free. A seniors program will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the pavilion, with a Valparaiso Community University Concert Band performance at 6 p.m., followed by a speaker for veterans starting at 7 p.m.
The last day of the fair is July 26.
For more information on this year's fair, go to www.portercountyfair.com.