Record crowds gathered in Littlefork for Northern Minnesota District Fair
LITTLEFORK — The 2010 Northern Minnesota District Fair in Littlefork was very successful, according to fair officials.
Tom O’Connell, fair board member, said the fair “dodged a major bullet” Friday with the weather, providing a slow but decisive start to the Labor Day weekend activities which ran through Monday. Rain and threatening clouds may have kept some people away from the fairgrounds Friday, but moderate temperatures and clear skies enticed the public to the Littlefork venue in record numbers Saturday, he said.
“Saturday was one of the biggest days in the history of the fair,” he said, numbering fair-goers around 3,000.
Events that day included a horse show in the morning, an antique car and tractor show in the afternoon, followed by lawn mower races, wine tasting and fireworks in the evening.
“It certainly exceeded my expectations,” O’Connell said.
The mud, lawn mower and oval races continued to draw crowds each evening to the fairgrounds. Included this year were upgrades to the race track.
The tractor show has become one of the premier events of the fair, O’Connell said. The wine show was “hugely successful and we’ll do it again,” he noted.
He also said the vendors, including new-to-the-fair Xtreme Archery, noted they were pleased with the turnout and community support. The Lutheran Food Booth sold out of dinners Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, he reported.
The larger carnival was a success, he said, and this year’s entertainment company, Cody Rides, has already agreed to return next year.
This is great news for the fair, O’Connell said, which for the last few years has been plagued with issues in securing a carnival. In 2008, the fair board was unable to secure a carnival and instead had inflatable rides, which he said was one of the worst turnouts to date. Last year, the fair returned with a smaller carnival and increased community support.
This year, Cody Rides included several amusements for small children; and a ferris wheel, Scrambler and large slide for people of all ages. Next year, even more rides are expected, staff of Cody Rides told the fair board after the event. Having the carnival booked already will allow the board to focus on new events and entertainment for next year.
And he said next year the fair is expected to be held in July.
O’Connell hinted at several ideas being discussed, including a hotdog or pie eating contest, horseshoe pit and nationally-known musical entertainment. Without having the carnival secured, attention would be focused on attracting a company to bring the rides and midway.
“I think we have the opportunity to make a big leap forward,” he said. “I’m really happy with the outcome.”
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