ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The U.P. State Fair is just a few weeks away, which means crews are getting the fairgrounds ready for an influx of visitors.
According to Operations Manager Matt Valiquette, the fairgrounds have been bustling all summer long. Events like Northwoods Motor Mayhem and the U.P. Trappers Convention have drawn large crowds, and that momentum is set to continue well into the fall.
“Over the next 90 days, we have roughly 40 major events, excluding the fair,” Valiquette said. “We’re fortunate to have the Great Lakes Logging Congress returning the second week of September, the Steam and Gas Engine Show on Labor Day, a national sheep show later in September. Really, a diverse set of different activities that would likely interest just about anyone.”
Amid all that activity, the U.P. State Fair Authority and its partners have been focused on preparations for the main event, which is scheduled for August 11 – 17.
“It’s been said before that planning for the week of the fair really does require 51 weeks,” said Valiquette. “We really started capturing the lessons learned of last year’s fair—what went right and we maybe need to improve upon—and started incorporating some of those into our planning really the week after the fair.”
Valiquette says a primary objective this year is to improve the experience for fairgoers. Some of those improvements include electrical and lighting infrastructure updates between the grandstand and the Ruth Butler Building.
“We’ve replaced a number of our electric utility poles and increased the cutouts on top of the powerlines,” Valiquette explained. “It’s a great partnership we have with the City of Escanaba. We’ve had issues with poor lighting or areas of darkness, so we have 14 state-of-the-art LED lights on top of these new utility poles in this general vicinity.”
A similar project was recently completed at the Equestrian Center.
“We commissioned a light study and we’ve greatly enhanced the lighting of our outdoor horse arena, which would improve the safety of our riders and our horses but also improve the overall spectator experience,” said Valiquette.
Changes have also been made to a few of the livestock barns.
“We set up 104 swine pens with a very unique watering system that is a requirement anytime you house swine,” Valiquette said. “Our beef barn is fully prepared. Our highland cattle, they’re in a new facility. We had to build 64 new pens to house our sheep and goats, which included building a brand new barn office there.”
The midway will be marked for vendors next week. Valiquette says that is one aspect of the fair that takes an enormous amount of planning.
“As our food concessioners begin to arrive on the grounds, we need to have water, power, and they need to be in their proper place,” he said. “Really, it comes down to a matter of inches when we’re utilizing the space on the midway.”
In addition, general maintenance is continuously being done around the grounds by a handful of full-time and seasonal crew members. Students from the Superior Alliance for Independent Living are also assisting with landscaping.
While it is a massive undertaking, Valiquette says the dedication of everyone involved always ensures the grounds are ready in time for fair week.
“If you take a look up the midway, it’s like the calm before the storm,” he said. “It doesn’t really look like there’s much going on, but behind the scenes, it’s fast and furious. They work really hard making sure that when folks come on the grounds, they like what they see.”
WZMQ 19 will provide more U.P. State Fair coverage ahead of and during fair week. To see what’s in store this year, visit upstatefair.net.
