Nebraska state fair 2006

w8ing · Post by **w8ing** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:10 am

Haven't went thru all my pics. Here's a few from tonight.

midtown charlie · Post by **midtown charlie** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:17 am

Such bold colors. Nice!

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:23 am

Good start w8ing! Looking forward to the rest.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 1:32 am

You can pretty much get anything on a stick at the state fair..

Nice pics..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

w8ing · Post by **w8ing** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 9:25 am

We walked around the photography competition submissions and there were a few people from Flickr that we saw pics from, one of whom won a few ribbons.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:35 pm

Wow - Iggy and Ziggy were there?
There sure is a lot of color at the fair.

Post by **nebugeater** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 6:55 pm

Here is a few taken today before it started to rain

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:04 pm

Nice photos bugeater! I never knew Lil Red was a 4Her!

Post by **nebugeater** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:35 pm

Coyote wrote:Nice photos bugeater! I never knew Lil Red was a 4Her!

This is his brother, Little GREEN. This is just being intorduced at the state fair as the mascot for the Nebraska 4-H Program. It will be used around the state to promote 4-H at various events.

midtown charlie · Post by **midtown charlie** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:59 pm

I especially like the photo of the guy on the bike. I liked how the guy next to him is comparing rides. A lot going on in that pic. Cool.

Hawkeye · Post by **Hawkeye** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:09 pm

I mean absolutely no disrespect here (you all know Ol' Hawkeye doesn't roll that way), but having grown up with the Iowa State Fair, and now having lived the past 13 years in the Twin Cities with the Great Minnesota Get-Together (Minny State Fair's official nickname), my first reaction in seeing those pictures was...WHERE THE HECK ARE ALL THE PEOPLE?

Just for comparison sake, here's a few pics Ol' Hawkeye found of what he can attest to being a pretty typical day, crowd-wise, at the Minny State Fair.

I've never been to the Nebby State Fair, but just figured all midwestern State Fairs were pretty packed...errr...umm....affairs. Gods of pundom, please forgive me.

Post by **nebugeater** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:24 pm

Well, I would like to say that I did everything to keep the people out of the picture but that is not the case. (By the way, no disrespect taken) The Nebraska State fair was on its death bed about three years ago. They used to rely 100% on horse racing money from state Fair Park to keep the grounds and facilities up. Most of us know what happened to this in Nebraska and the funds dried up. There was no plan B so along with the funds the upkeep went to pot and the so did the attendance. (A very short version of what happened).

Crowds used to look close to that of the pictures that you provided. I have been to the Iowa St Fair a few times (lived in Cedar Rapids for 10 years) and I could only hope that the NE fair can set this as a goal. It is achievable.

There have been noted improvements in the last three years. To me there seemed like a noticeable increase in the "things to see and do" this year. Keep in mind that the day that I took some pictures the rain was scaring people away but that is hardly the difference maker. I have been to the Ne fair every year save one for the last 25 or so years. It was an event and I believe it will be again. The lottery money helps but it is much more than that. I believe there is a management style that is there to make this thing work. I do not think that has been the case for a while. I like what I read about the new director that was just hires that comes most recently from the Wyoming fair.

By the way, believe it or not from the pictures, the newspapers are reporting that attendance is UP this year.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 2:48 pm

Great photos, guys.

I don't know what those topping-covered things are in the first series, but it looks like just one is enough to send me into a diabetic coma.

RE: Attendance...

Isn't the Iowa State Fair a regional attraction with people coming from neighboring states as well as Iowa?

So, you've got a centrally-located attraction, in a state with 80% more people, plus folks from nearby states attending...

The Nebraska State Fair is, unfortunately, just not a big deal. I only attended twice when I lived there. I hope it turns itself around.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:08 pm

Attendance Up At Nebraska State Fair

KETV wrote:The first three days of the Nebraska State Fair shows attendance up more than 10 percent -- despite some rain. The weekend total for Friday through Sunday was 78,889, an increase of more than 7,000 from last year's 71,678.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:11 pm

Blend Of New, Old Mark 2006 State Fair

KETV wrote:"The entire fairgrounds is full right now. If I had someone else come in, wanted a spot, I don't have any room for them, so we're really positive of this year's fair," McDermott said. "Quite honestly, in 2004, we were about $1 million in debt. And right now we're sitting with about $1 million in the bank."

Also former Wyoming State Fair Manager Barney Cosner was named Nebraska's new director. Things may be changing here.

Hawkeye · Post by **Hawkeye** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:51 pm

Coyote wrote:Blend Of New, Old Mark 2006 State Fair

KETV wrote:"The entire fairgrounds is full right now. If I had someone else come in, wanted a spot, I don't have any room for them, so we're really positive of this year's fair," McDermott said. "Quite honestly, in 2004, we were about $1 million in debt. And right now we're sitting with about $1 million in the bank."
Also former Wyoming State Fair Manager Barney Cosner was named Nebraska's new director. Things may be changing here.

Hopefully that is the case Coyote old buddy. State Fairs are fun and a great family outing.

For the record, Iowa's 2006 attendance was just a shade over 1 million, and Minny's 2006 fair just opened on Thursday, but in the past few years has been right around 1.6 or 1.7 million. Both are 12-day events.

Not sure where that places them nationally, but it's probably right up there near the top attendance-wise. So while attempting to move up to Iowa's or Minnesota's level is probably asking too much, it does sound as if Nebraska is on track to continue increasing its attendance and raising its overall profile. And at the end of the day, that's a good thing.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 4:20 pm

This is the first time they have something I would like to go to. Kansas will be playing on Monday night, but I might be out of town then.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 4:27 pm

According to the Des Moines Register: State Fair News 2005 Attendance at Iowa was 1,005,238 and Minnesota's was 1,632,876 which was the third largest in the nation. Nebraska will probably never get those types of figures, I just hope the quality of entertainment is on par with other state fairs.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:33 pm

A few pictures from my visit yesterday:

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:15 pm

Great pics Coyote..

Thanks for posting them..

The state fair..Anything on a stick heaven..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:51 pm

The pics are all great.

But the NE state fare really does look sad, like a dwindling county fare.

Harpoon · Post by **Harpoon** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 6:47 pm

Hawkeye wrote:I mean absolutely no disrespect here (you all know Ol' Hawkeye doesn't roll that way), but having grown up with the Iowa State Fair, and now having lived the past 13 years in the Twin Cities with the Great Minnesota Get-Together (Minny State Fair's official nickname), my first reaction in seeing those pictures was...WHERE THE HECK ARE ALL THE PEOPLE?

I would have to agree, the Minnesota State Fair is awesome compared to the "county fair" here in Nebraska.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:09 pm

I generally agree with what people are saying about the NE State Fair - but I believe it is on a rebound - besides - we really shouldn't compare it with the Minnesota State fair in all its glory (which I believe is held in the metropolis) that has had a rich tradition. I hope that the State Fair can improve in time. My pictures were taken on a Thursday evening while thousands of people were listening to this gawd awful country music gag me band was playing - I don't know why people like that kind of music - someone by the name of Neal McCoy - I think that was the guy who sang Convoy or something.

Post by **nebugeater** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:33 pm

Coyote wrote: I don't know why people like that kind of music - someone by the name of Neal McCoy - I think that was the guy who sang Convoy or something.

If you know anything About Omaha you should know this is not the case.

Convy -
Lyrics by Bill Fries & Louis F. (Chip) Davis

Sung by C.W. Mcall - AKA - Billy Dale Fries

Read the whole story here.
http://www.narrowgauge.org/4x4/cw_pages/html/mcwho.html

In early '60s, Bill went to work for an Omaha advertising agency as their art director. It was also at this time, in 1961, that Bill first visited Ouray, and fell in love with the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

Bill created C. W. McCall while working for the Bozell Jacobs advertising agency in Omaha. By 1968, Bill's musical talents had surfaced again. He had combined writing, music, and art to win numerous awards for various advertising campaigns, and was made the creative director for the agency. One of Bozell & Jacobs clients at the time was the Metz Baking Company, of Sioux City, Iowa. They asked B&J to create a new kind of ad campaign for their Old Home Bread. Bill set to work, not having any idea where this assignment would lead.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 10:38 pm

nebugeater - I was being sarcastic as usual.

But thanks for the reference. It is great to read that story again.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 3:31 am

Ha! I know a few odd bits about Omaha, and I couldn't care less about that ;).

Post by **nebugeater** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 2:48 pm

Coyote wrote:nebugeater - I was being sarcastic as usual. But thanks for the reference. It is great to read that story again.

I know, but not everyone reading here might. And a good reference to CWM is always hard to pass up. It should be one of Omaha's proudest moments, right????