RAYMO’S RAMBLINGS -FAIR FUN!
FAIR FUN!
I have a thing for county fairs, I love them. I enjoy the atmosphere that surrounds a county fair. The smells, the noise, the little kids, the laughter, it’s all good stuff. This past week at the Swift County Fair in Appleton has been a blast. I am actually working at the fair and still having so much fun. The best part is meeting people! I am a people person and enjoy visiting with people and the county fair is the perfect place for that.
I set up the KLQP radio booth on Wednesday afternoon in the commercial building and took it down late Sunday afternoon. Very long hours every day from Thursday through Sunday. I will be honest, it is Sunday evening and I am very tired. I can’t imagine what the Swift County Fair board members are feeling. They work very hard and put in some ridiculous hours. Hats off to them for their hard work. The Swift County Fair, in my opinion, is one of the best fairs in Minnesota.
When you are working at the fair for five days, you get to know the other vendors pretty good that are set up by your booth. I have the best neighbors at the fair, we have so much fun visiting with each other and helping each other out. My neighbors across the aisle are friends of mine, Amanda Kells and Kristine Reszel. They sell Lula Roe women’s apparel. All three of us love social media and were coming up with creative things to post on our sites. Those two women are very good at what they do. Jason Dehne of Edwards Jones was to my left and I enjoyed watching his son help him in the booth. Jason’s son is a very good salesman for his age. To the right of my Q92 booth was Acira, they were handing out yoyo’s that lit up! I loved that and did very well with my yoyo. Appleton Chamber was down from me. On Saturday, they had a beautiful quilt that Judy Hursch made. It told a story of the history of Appleton, with many old pictures on it. Dale Lien and Jay Heinecke manned that booth and I enjoyed visiting with them. Close to me was my good friend Cheri Tuckett with Crazy About Purses and her son Isaiah. Isaiah shared his steak cubes with me one day! Cheri is very creative and I like watching her visit with her customers. She is such a positive person and people person.
I interviewed so many people on the radio during the fair. From 4H kids, pie baking winners, Miss Appleton candidates, fair board members, Chamber members, robotic students, vendors that advertise with Q92. My favorite interview had to be Sunday. Tim Welling had challenged Taniah Tosel in Knockerball one night at the Appleton VFW. You put this plastic bubble over your body and run into other people. The idea is to knock the other person over. It is very fun to watch. Posters were put up on the fairgrounds the day before announcing this event. Taniah vs Tim 2pm Sunday! I was busy broadcasting from our booth at the time of the event, so I did not see it. I guess a good number of people came to watch.
I had the chance to interview Taniah and Tim afterwards and it was a hoot. Lots of laughs and kidding around. Taniah claimed victory I guess, Tim said it was very exhausting but so much fun, but he got his licks in. Afterwards Paige Lehne challenged me next year, so it looks like I will be involved in something that might kill me. I have posted the video of Taniah and Tim on my Facebook page.
My favorite events at the Swift County Fair were Ribfest on Saturday afternoon and The Grass Roots concert on Saturday night. Love the Grass Roots songs. The Chuck Brown building was packed for the Grass Roots. At Ribfest, Pat and Dick Krebs, along with Dale Lien and myself have taken a selfie together every year of Ribfest. We got together again for the third time since 2016. Friday night Ms. Wheelchair Minnesota, Shannon Boehnke, from Marietta sang the National Anthem at the Demo Derby. That was amazing, boy can she sing. My favorite food was the steak cubes from the food vendor by the Chuck Brown Building. Swift County fair is in the books and one to remember! Lac qui Parle fair is next and can’t wait! Fair Fun!
