During a break in last-minute plans for this year’s Dakota-Thurston County Fair, fair manager Lisa Bousquet was feeling a little uneasy.
“I feel a little more organized than normal, and it’s kind of scary,” she said with a laugh.
All the planning and work going in to setting up the annual fair at the old Atokad Downs racetrack was in place as the fair was set to kick off Wednesday evening with the Little Prince and Princess Contest at the Expo Center. The fair began its annual five-day run Wednesday and will continue through Sunday afternoon with plenty of events available for people to come and enjoy.
A lot of people have volunteered their time and talents to help get the fair ready for the public to enjoy, which Bousquet said is the key to making a successful weekend worth of fun and hard work.
“We had some Wednesday night work nights and people from both Dakota and Thurston counties came and helped get things ready and get everything beautified,” she said. “Things have turned out pretty well and we’re ready for kickoff.”
While many of the events on the schedule are traditional parts of the fair, there are some new twists this year that will add to the fun.
There will be more activities for kids who attend the fair, including a Saturday afternoon money dig sponsored by CharterWest and several activities geared toward the pre-teen and teenage crowd.
A staple of the fair has been the variety of food trucks, and this year Bousquet said there will be 17 food trucks set up, including several new vendors.
Also new this year is a Sunday afternoon Mexican-style rodeo that includes bull-riding, dancing horses, music and a VIP area.
“We’re really excited about it,” Bousquet said. “It’s a new cultural event that we’ve added this year, and it should be a lot of fun.”
Another feature is the improved track just south of the Expo, home to the annual tractor pull and Figure 8 races that will happen Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Attendance to the Dakota-Thurston County Fair is free, with admission charged for the tractor pull on Thursday, Figure 8 racing on Friday, extreme bull riding on Saturday and the Mexican rodeo on Sunday.
Bousquet said all that was left was to get a nice rain shower on Tuesday night to knock down the dust and all will be ready for the weekend.
“The forecast is for temperatures in the 70’s and that would just be great,” she said. “We’ve done fairs when it’s been over 100 degrees, so mid to upper 70’s would be perfect weather.”
