The clock is ticking, and the Bremer County Fair will start July 27, whether the new fairgrounds are finished or still under construction.
“We have committed to not be at the old fairgrounds. We’re going to be at the new fairgrounds [this] year, regardless if we’re ready or not,†said fair board facilities co-manager Roy Petersen, who is acting as project manager on the new fairgrounds, in a Nov. 21 interview.
But the fairgrounds are steadily moving closer to “ready.†The last weeks leading up to the fair have seen a frenzy of activity at the site on the east side of Waverly, at 300 39th St. NE. The fair is scheduled to run July 27-Aug. 2.
“If people haven’t checked out the site before now, they’d say there’s a lot to do yet,†Petersen noted July 8, “but if you looked at it a month ago, you’d say [now], ‘Holy smoke, there’s a lot done.’â€
In the “done†category are the swine building, the parking lot in front of the event center, the entertainment and carnival area, and three of six shade gazebos. The last three gazebos are expected to be constructed this coming weekend.
There’s a whole lot that’s in the process of getting done, according to Petersen: dirt work, road grooming, concrete, the event center. He expects the event center to be complete by fair time except for the kitchen and possibly the main floor finish.
The stage is expected to be mostly done by fair time, although it may have a tent over it rather than a roof.
“But by next year, we hope funds will come in to put the top on it,†Petersen said. “It will be a state-of-the-art stage.â€
As for the giant livestock building, there was a burst of activity there on the Fourth of July weekend, with the roof going up, the wiring going in and exterior steel siding going on.
“The large livestock building, that is slated to be done before fair,†Petersen said. “And, electrically, it’s being wired up now by fair board [members] and Elsamiller Electric (the electrical project manager), but that’s really a fair board project. That’s how we absorb some of our cost.â€
Petersen noted the whole project has several hired contractors.
“They have specific projects that we’ve given them for a price,†Petersen said. “They’re doing what they need to accomplish before the fair.â€
Petersen, like other business owners on the fair board, has cut back on his own work this year to devote more time to the fairground construction.
“I’m out here again today,†he said Tuesday. “I might pour some concrete, might move dirt, might move rock.â€
He tries to be at the fairgrounds every day, but he still takes on small construction jobs of his own that he can do in a day or two, joking, “That way I can eat!â€
He has two sons who also help out a lot. “And we don’t charge.†The Petersen family is not alone in that. He noted that numerous fair board members have their own businesses and donate their time and expertise.
With the start of fair week less than three weeks away, fairground construction takes priority.
“I put the fair on the top of my list,†Petersen said. “Everything else follows.â€
The fair board, as a whole, is volunteering untold hours to getting the site prepped in time.
“Weekends we try to get as many as we can,†Petersen said. “Sometimes we get 15-20 fair board members for a weekend. During the week, there’s anywhere from two to six fair board members that can give up time. Outside of that, we have hired contractors coming in.â€
The project still needs monetary donations in addition to time and talents.
“For the last few years of this major work going on, we have been blessed with donations and in-kind [contributions],†Petersen said. “A month ago, we were at the point where we had to start borrowing money.â€
The debt is necessary “because we had four or five weeks to finish out this project, to get it into a position so we could have a fair,†he explained.
He stressed that just because the fairgrounds will have visible facilities by fair time, that doesn’t mean that no more funding is required.
It is, after all, an expensive process, and a huge undertaking for everybody involved. As Petersen observed, it’s rare for a county to move its fairgrounds, with only a handful doing so before in Iowa.
“There’s no book that tells you how to build a fairground,†he said.
Nonetheless, other than having to dip into the red to finish on time, Petersen is happy with how the new fairgrounds are progressing.
“The loose ends are really coming together,†he said. Then he paused. “It’s still a lot of work to do.â€