Wednesday, December 03, 2008

STATE FAIR PARK -- Eric Reinmiller thumped the map of the state fairgrounds with a pointed finger for emphasis.

"Four generations of my family showed sheep in that building,'' the 56-year-old butcher from Seward, Neb., said, pointing at the map's designation for the stately brick 4-H Building.

"The fair's about tradition, and that's going to be gone when they move to Grand Island,'' Reinmiller said.

The near-outburst came Wednesday at the Grand Island booth at the Nebraska State Fair.

The booth was the idea of Grand Island leaders, who want to emphasize the excitement and commitment of the central Nebraska community of 43,000. Grand Island was chosen this spring as the new site for the State Fair beginning in 2010.

"Grand Island: Hosting your Nebraska State Fair 2010'' proclaim the purple-and-gold T-shirts worn by the volunteers at the booth, located inside the State Fair 1868 Foundation building.

But more often than not, the purple people have found themselves on the defensive, fending off criticism -- some of it rudely delivered -- about how moving the fair from State Fair Park, its home for 107 years, to a smaller city is a bad idea that eventually will kill the fair.

"So you're advertising Grand Island? No thanks,'' one man said as he walked past with his wife.

"Will any of us Omaha people actually go to Grand Island?'' asked another man. "I'd say no.''

Cindy Johnson, executive director of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce, said it has been difficult for volunteers to hear the criticism. But, she said, it's the first time many people have been able to voice -- and vent -- their opinions about the move.

"Change is hard,'' Johnson said. "People can't envision it being any different than it is now.''

The impending move of the State Fair has been topic No. 1 at the 2008 event.

Food venders aren't sure if they'll haul their booths an additional 90 miles west for an event that will likely draw smaller crowds.

Visitors, who predominately come from southeast Nebraska, question whether they'll make the longer drive and whether the research park planned on the current fairgrounds will be a success.

Longtime fair employees -- most of whom say they won't be transferring -- count the days until next year's fair, the last in Lincoln, is over.

Even the fair's executive director, Barney Cosner, was unsure whether he would follow the fair to Grand Island.

It will be a much different job from the one he was hired for two years ago, Cosner said.

The buildings on the Grand Island fairgrounds will be maintained by Fonner Park officials, with the State Fair taking over to run its event for only a few weeks a year. State Fair Park is a year-round job, involving hundreds of events and a Thoroughbred racetrack.

Larry McConnell, a food vendor from Indianola, Iowa, said he probably will take only one of his three root beer and pretzel stands to the new fair.

"I can't imagine not being a part of it,'' McConnell said. But, he added, he just doesn't see it presenting the moneymaking opportunity of the current fair, which draws about 300,000 visitors during its 10-day run.

In the cross hairs for all this venting has been the Grand Island booth, where a videotape of G.I. attractions is shown over and over. There's the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer, the huge Island Oasis Water Park, the funky Coney Island Lunch Room and the earthy sandhill crane migration. A raffle is also offered for a weekend visit to the community.

Johnson, with the Grand Island chamber, acknowledged that the fair may be different.

"It might be a smaller State Fair, but the emphasis will be on quality,'' she said, adding that the fair is about more than attendance counts. It's about purple ribbons and competitions for 4-H'ers and FFA members, she said.

Jay Vavricek, a former Grand Island mayor, was working alongside Johnson on Wednesday at the State Fair booth.

He said that the new fairgrounds will feature new buildings, better access, more accessible parking and, likely, bigger-name entertainment.

The Fair Board -- which Vavricek emphasized he is not a member of -- will be able to focus the $2.5 million to $3 million a year it gets from the state lottery on programming rather than patching aging buildings at State Fair Park, Vavricek said.

Grand Island's Heartland Events Center, which will be in the center of the new fairgrounds, hosted a sold-out concert for the band Chicago at the county fair, he pointed out. That 7,000-seat venue will be an improvement over the Open-Air Auditorium at State Fair Park, Vavricek said.

Opposition to the fair in Grand Island, Vavricek added, will take time, maybe a couple of fairs, to quiet. The community will meet an Oct. 1 deadline to commit $3 million toward the fair's move, Vavricek and Johnson said, and will fulfill its entire $8.5 million commitment toward the $42 million move.

Reinmiller, who said he has attended the Lincoln-based fair since 1955, said he plans to go to Grand Island for the first year just to see "if it's good enough'' to attend again.

"Maybe someone will start a new tradition out there. . . . We'll see,'' he said.