DE PERE (NBC 26) — Fair staff, volunteers, vendors, and exhibitors set up shop Tuesday at the Brown County Fairgrounds one day ahead of the big event.
Crews set up tents for commercial vendors Tuesday morning, while workers began to set up carnival rides and games.
Dale Maass and his two kids put up their tent Tuesday. Maass is the owner of See More Corn Heat, a retailer in Seymour that sells specialty outdoor cooking appliances with a focus on local, renewable energy sources. Maass said they will do some demonstrations with the appliances at the fair, including cooking up pizzas.
"We're going to have a regular fair," Maass said. "Even though Brown County had a good fair last year, I think we're going to have a lot more of the kids back. A lot more of their projects are going to be back. There's going to be a lot more to see and a lot more going on."
4-H and FFA members could be found in the Cattle Barn decorating the area and setting up equipment before livestock arrive Tuesday night.
Grace Angotti, Evan Mennen and McKenzie Mooren are members of Bay Port FFA. They will show beef and pig at the Brown County Fair.
Given the past year, the group said they're happy to show their work in the upcoming days.
"I feel like having the fair wide open again, even though COVID is starting to come back, hopefully more people will show up this year," Mooren said.
"I'm just excited about the beef show and that we were able to - because I'm from another county - that they were able to open it up for the whole state of Wisconsin," Angotti said. "So I'm just excited to be here."
Mike Hoskens, Brown County Fair Association president, said there will be more than 15 food vendors and 1,000 youth exhibitors at the Brown County Fair this year. He said fair preparations started last weekend with cleaning and sanitation of barns and other buildings on the fairgrounds.
Hoskens said he's excited to have a fair this year to showcase area youth.
"I'm just excited to see it all come together with some sun outside," Hoskens said. "Really looking forward to tomorrow when we can open the gates."
Hoskens said Brown County Fair attendance typically averages upwards of 25,000 people every year. The Brown County Fair will open to the public at noon Aug. 18 and run until 6 p.m. Aug. 22. A full schedule of events can be found online.
There will also be a tribute held before the rodeos on Friday and Saturday night for former Brown County Fair Association president Steve Corrigan, who died in January this year.
