According to this Savage Pacer article, the Scott County Fair Board recently brought on a new manager to reshape the county fair and bring in more revenue from its facilities both preexisting and soon to come. While this idea is a great one, it would appear that the new manager, and the fair’s board, are making many of the same mistakes other local agencies have made over the years.
From the article:
The county fair will be without Entertainment Square this summer. New lighting and sound systems will replace the aging white stage, and a temporary arts venue will be erected in its place.
In 2014, a seasonal cultural performing arts center will be built, making use of the state-of-the-art equipment purchased in 2013.
[...]
For many months of each year, Woodward plans to primarily market the facility to local organizations that could host orchestra concerts, historical events and other cultural events. Woodward isn’t discounting the potential for drawing well-known bands, “if we build the right building,” he said.
Each new event would be an opportunity for the fair board to raise money via food and beverage vendors — depending on the event, maybe a local microbrewery or vineyard. And of course, the Ferris wheel would be turning.
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The fairgrounds, too, is for rent. People who need a place for their outdoor weddings, animal shows, arts performances, or other gatherings could find a willing host at the fairgrounds.
These items sound awfully familiar to the Burnsville Performing Arts Center and Apple Valley’s failed attempt at using the multi-million dollar senior center as a place to hold wedding receptions and other events. While Jordan may be a little different than Apple Valley or Burnsville, one really has to wonder whether a woman would want to get married in the same general area where cows will be streaming urine on the ground from under their raised tails and horses plop their steaming piles all over the ground while rural folk slug beer and hold food on a stick from fifth tier vendors who can’t afford to populate such illustrious venues as the Dakota County Fairgrounds.
Do you think Scott County’s Fairgrounds will fair (ha!) better than the BPAC or other similar venues when it comes to adding a performing arts center? Looking back as someone who was getting married, could you imagine yourself getting married on fairground property? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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February 5th, 2013 at 9:28 am
Bill, I’m afraid you may be acting a little hoity toity in this regard.
First, I don’t think the weddings would be held during the fair, therefore your comment about a bride stepping in a cowpie is moot.
Second, let’s be honest. A new building here is probably going to be better than half of the American Legion/VFW/Eagle’s/Moose whatever clubs that a lot of wedding receptions are held at anyway.
Third, I’ve actually been to wedding receptions held at Fairground buildings (The Goodhue County Fair, even, which is a lot grodier than Jordan) and it really isn’t that bad. Again, no worse than a legion hall or VFW hall. I guess this makes me one of the “rural folk slugging beer” oh well, I guess.
I think you’re getting hung up on the Performing Arts Center tag. You and the rest of the residents of Apple Valley and Burnsville have been burnt on this one and understandably you’re skeptical whenever you hear that term. And this is where they could go wrong if they model it after that failed venture. But I think if they just make a nice reception hall it could work. Remember, this is Jordan, which is a might bit farther from the very nice venues of the twin cities than AV and Bville are. If they market it to people in the middle rather than the top I think they could make a go.
February 5th, 2013 at 9:55 am
Mr. V,
I never quite understood the draw of having weddings in a VFW/Legion and that’s something that I have only seen in Minnesota (where, BTW, people come dressed completely inappropriately compared to other states where I have lived; no, jeans and a flannel shirt is not ok to wear to a wedding).
February 5th, 2013 at 10:19 am
Honestly, Scott County is severely lacking in venues for wedding receptions of any size (think capacity for 200-300). The biggest things holding this building back from ever working are location and parking. They desperately need more hard surface parking areas for this proposed new building to be a legitimate draw for wedding receptions and concerts (the concert aspect is rather laughable to me) and there is ZERO lodging in Jordan making the nearest hotels of any size a drive south to Belle Plaine or north to Chaska / Shakopee. The Scott County Fair Board may be aiming high but they need to look at what people want and need along with a venue for concerts or wedding receptions.
February 5th, 2013 at 10:38 am
Bill,
Fair enough about Minnesotans love of VFW halls. I guess it’s just our choice of venue. And I completely agree about attire. Terribel choice of what to wear.
Sornie is right. If they get a hotel to pair with (feasable or not), it could really work well.
February 5th, 2013 at 4:34 pm
“Every fair hosts racing events, a tractor pull and demolition derbies, according to Woodward. But two-day music festivals, modern or antique car shows, flea markets or community garage sales might add flavor to the fairgrounds.” – From the article.
Yeah! let’s get a “Basilica Block Party” type of thing going on. Or better yet something like this
I don’t know, this guy kinda sounds like the music man in certain respects. I have to laugh at trying to market “The Oral History Trailer” as a hi-tech mobile recording studio. Might want to lose the name as I see a large potential for abuse with that one.
Really Bill? I agree with statement only to the extent of if you’re in the wedding party then it would be inappropriate. But the guests? I don’t think so. So was everyone “appropriately dressed” at your wedding or did you have to turn away those “jean wearin’ flannel people” at the door?
Friends are friends no matter what they wear to your wedding. If they were good enough to invite in the first place, then it shouldn’t matter what they show up in.
February 5th, 2013 at 6:43 pm
Yes everyone was because of the handful of couples we invited from MN all of them knew of my feelings on appropriate wedding attire. It was my wife’s wedding and I expected people to respect our event. If you, as a guest, are so inconsiderate that you can’t wear appropriate clothing then you should just stay at home.
February 5th, 2013 at 9:17 pm
Appropriate wedding attire depends on the wedding and the wedding party. Different strokes for different folks and you’re no more an idiot for wanting suits and dresses than you are for being o.k. with blue jeans and tank tops.
The guy is new to the job and comes from marketing, so it seems par for the course to aim high. I’m always curious where all these places think they’ll get these acts that will draw in people. Maybe it’s just me in denial of the growth in the region.
February 5th, 2013 at 9:29 pm
It seems like it would be hard to compete with Mystic Lake, given how it isn’t that far away and it’s built for this sort of thing already. Plus now that they serve alcohol, that would no longer be a limiting factor.
February 5th, 2013 at 9:48 pm
@Bill: I’m sure that the couples you invited from MN appreciated your coaching on proper attire as they obviously wouldn’t have had a clue otherwise (being that they were from MN dontcha know). So you dodged a bullet there!
February 6th, 2013 at 12:48 am
N52,
It wasn’t ‘coaching’. It was me expressing surprise that people here don’t consider suits standard attire for a wedding and them saying that’s the norm for MN.