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After years of dwindling traffic and diminished community involvement, the Oneida County Fair may be in line for a total transformation.

The Oneida County Agricultural and Extension Committee and the county fair’s organizing committee have agreed in principle to recommend that the event be moved from its current location at Hodag 50 Park to Pioneer Park in Rhinelander.

At a meeting on Tuesday evening members of the committee met with members of the UW-Extension’s fair committee and came to a consensus that the fair could better serve the community from Pioneer Park.

The decision paves the way for a round of planning with community partners that could see the fair turn into a smaller, more energetic event that offers a wider array of entertainment, including a midway carnival, theater shows, and a beer garden.

“The group is going to work with some other partners and try to bring the fair to Pioneer Park,” said UW-Extension director Dan Kuzlik. “The fair has gone through some changes. We gave it one last try at the Hodag 50 and had some successes, but we still haven’t gotten it where it’s a really fun event.”

Kuzlik said the idea of the moving had support from everyone involved and the meeting focused on overcoming logistical barriers in time to make it happen in 2009.

“The more we talked about it, the more it seemed like a good idea,” Kuzlik said. “The idea had been floating for a couple of months. Everyone liked it, but there was some question about whether we could pull off that big a change for 2009. In the end, we realized it was the opposite—we realized it would be harder to pull it off again at the Hodag 50.”

Holding the fair at a smaller location was an attractive idea for the event’s planners after so many thin years at the massive Pine Lake site.

“It’s the old theater trick,” said Kuzlik. “Book a small room and fill it.”

Paul Dean, chairman of the county committee that oversees the fair, said moving the fair is a way for the county to share the burden with partner organizations.

“The bottom line is I support it 100 percent and I think it could be a great marriage between the city and the county,” Dean said. “Our committee all agreed on it. We just hope everything works out.”

The committee’s recommendation still has to pass muster at the county board and the city council, but one looming obstacle seems to have been dealt with already.

The county’s ten-year contract with Hodag 50 Park was set to run through 2014, but the park’s owners have verbally agreed to let the county out of its contract for next year.

Oneida County Corporation Counsel Brian Desmond said the owners of Hodag 50 Park were extremely accommodating.

“They’ve been gracious enough to let us try it in the city,” said Desmond.

Rhinelander City Administrator Bill Bell supports the project wholeheartedly and said he would champion its cause when the city’s parks and grounds committee convenes to discuss it.

“I love the idea of the project,” Bell said. “I don’t see any opposition to it. It seems like a no-brainer. It will bring a lot of people to town and bring traffic to the existing exhibits. At the same time it will help the county and the local community groups.”

Part of the thinking behind moving the fair from the site of Hodag Country Fest to Pioneer Park was to harness the organizational capacities of a cadre of community groups in order to bring new life to the fair.

Old Rhinelander Inc., the non-profit that operates the Logging Museum, Downtown Rhinelander Inc. (DRI), the Rhinelander Chamber of Commerce, the Hodag Farmers Market, the city, and the county would all play a part in operating the event.

Bell has recommended that the fair sell beer in a designated beer garden as a new source of revenue, and DRI has agreed in principle to run that venue as a fundraiser.

Bell said the idea of selling beer at the fair came from his experience in Turtle Lake.

“I brought it up because the Turtle Lake Inter-County Fair made about $40,000 per year selling beer at its music stages and that kind of revenue could really help,” Bell said.

Bell said the beer garden would be a fenced-in area and wristbands would be required. Only beer and low-alcohol beverages would be sold.

Bell said UW-Extension’s Jim Winkler has already brought in a carnival group to inspect the location and the presence of existing organizations like Old Rhinelander Inc. could make for a lively atmosphere at the fair.

Should the project get approval from the county board and the city council, Bell said he would approach St. Mary’s Hospital to see if the fair could utilize the old hospital parking lot for the event.

“Interest in the fair seems to be dwindling and this seems like a way to re-kindle it,” said Bell.

Dean said the county would also benefit from sharing the cost of operating the fair with the city.

“For years and years Oneida County has been sponsoring it and for the last 20 years we haven’t made money on it,” said Dean. “Now we have the possibility of sharing some expenses and generating some revenue.”

Dean said he anticipates some reservations from county board supervisors who see the move as over-emphasizing Rhinelander’s role in a county event, but he said he doesn’t believe that will derail the process.

“I can see their point of views. We might have some concerns but this is the county seat too and we’ve always had a fair here and we’d like to continue to have it here,” Dean said. “Minocqua has a lot of things going on.”

While the plan still needs approval from a number of additional authorities, the fair’s organizers seem genuinely energized by the prospect of joining forces with community groups to put on a fair that features a diverse array of entertainment in a fun and picturesque environment.

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Comments »

Eldri wrote on Dec 18, 2008 4:32 PM:

" What a great idea!! We've bought our grandkids to the old fair but the size of the fairgrounds made it hard to get around especially with the little ones. Let us know the weekend and we'll be sure to be up there at our place on Long Lake in the Harrison Hills so we can take a ride into Rhinelander and enjoy the fair. "

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