Jackson County Fair makes good transition to new home

The recently-concluded 2015 Jackson County Fair — the 90th such event in the county’s history — marked the first time that all fair events were held at the Northeast Kansas Heritage Complex, and many involved with the fair said the transition from the old fair­grounds in Holton to the fair’s new home went smoother than ex­pected.

“The fair was a huge success at the new location,” said Cara Robin­son, Jackson County 4-H program manager. “This was a transition year for us, locating to a brand new facility, and I was really impressed with the work that the Jackson County Fair Board and the volun­teers that came out to help did, making the 2015 fair one to re­member.”

Jackson County Fair Board President Aaron Allen agreed.

“I thought we had a great fair,” Allen said. “We didn’t hear any negative comments on it, and I couldn’t have been more pleased.”

For several years, starting in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when the first buildings were erected at the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and Kansas Highway 16 in Holton, the Jackson County Fair was held at the fair­grounds located at that intersection, with the ex­cep­tion of the fair’s horse show, held at the Circleville Saddle Club. In 2010, the horse show was moved to the Heritage Complex, becoming the first fair event to be held at that site.

The fair board has been working to sell the fairground land and property to help fund construction of buildings at the Heritage Com­plex, and in early 2014, it was an­nounced that Ca­sey’s General Store would build a new store on part of the grounds. The livestock barns were demol­ished shortly after the 2014 fair ended, and construction the new Casey’s began soon after­ward.

Later in the year, the Holton school district acquired the Jackson County Fair Building. The sale of both the plot where the new Ca­sey’s is located and the Fair Build­ing guaranteed that the 2015 fair would be held at the Heritage Complex.

The only aspect of the fair that some expressed disappointment about was the midway, provided again by Toby’s Amusements of Arma. However, Allen noted that the number of rides and games pro­vided by Toby’s, which some said was fewer than in previous years, was “out of the fair board’s con­trol.”

“To us, the fair’s really about 4-H and the 4-H kids, and that all went terrifically,” he said. “The midway generates some income for us, but it’s a sideline.”

Robinson said this year’s fair saw a total of 2,043 4-H entries, which marked a slight decline from last year. The reason for the de­cline, she said, was that 4-H mem­bers were more limited in the num­ber of items they could submit in the foods and photography catego­ries, and poultry exhibits were not allowed this year due to avian flu concerns.

“This was due to the limited space in the small exhibit building, because we didn’t know what kind of entries we would get for the open class department,” Robinson said. “We did not display the food samples this year like in years past, and the 4-Hers could only display three of their arts and crafts entries during the fair. But they were able to have all six of their arts and crafts judged at the pre-fair judg­ing.”

Both Allen and Robinson noted that the Heritage Complex remains a work in progress, stating that while some aspects of the new fair­grounds mark an improvement over the old grounds, there is still room for improvement in other areas. Allen said the livestock building was a good example of the former, noting that the only improvement he would suggest for it would be “maybe a couple of bigger fans placed in certain locations.”

Still, he added, the new building was “about 10 times cooler” than the livestock arena at the old fair­grounds.

Cooler temperatures are also needed inside the small exhibit building, Robinson added.

“As of right now, just the kitchen, restrooms and lobby are air-conditioned,” she said. “Maybe in the future, we can get the whole building air-conditioned.”

Allen said there are “several things” on the agenda for expan­sion at the new fairgrounds, in­cluding possibly adding a concert shell and seating at the Margaret Hund Amphitheater in time for next year’s fair.