JANESVILLE 鈥 Every year at the end of July, area residents flock to Craig Avenue in 糖心Vlog传媒 for the annual Rock County 4-H Fair where animals are shown, there are numerous carnival rides and musical artists hit the stage.
Rock County 4-H staff help fairgoers with questions and issues throughout the days of the fair.
"Fifty-one weeks out of the year this is the quietest building of the year in 糖心Vlog传媒 and then it's just fast," Fair Board President Ryan George said.
It's chaos that starts with superintendents picking boxes for shows in the fair office, and three days of almost nonstop copy machine use for programs. In between all that, staff say there are more stories that happen in the fair office and on the fairgrounds than they can remember.
Staff recalled in 2013, country singer Hunter Hayes performed. Hayes' manager unloaded an office cart with office equipment and banners from his tour bus, and the fair's backstage trailer apparently "wasn't sufficient," George said.
The tables were moved out of the way to set up Hayes' computers and office equipment. Also, banners, Buddhas and small statues were put in place, and then left.
"He had to have the right aura and never did anything with any of it," George said.
Also that year, Florida Georgia Line set a 4-H Fair attendance record of 30,667.
"The line from one gate went past the next gate and there was literally piles of cash in the ticket booth. We didn't have money. We couldn't make change. People didn't care. They'd give $100. 'Just let us in,'" George said. "We're literally bringing cash back in laundry baskets."
Staff still had work to do when the concert was over.
"People got out of work at 5 and you couldn't get 30,000 people through the gates quick enough," George said.
"They were waiting so long for tickets there was trash all over so we took trash bags and picked it all up," Fair Manager Mary Check said.
Sometimes weather challenged the 4-H Fair.
"All of our shows happen no matter what," George said.
However, that is in close consultation with the Rock County Sheriff's Office and the National Weather Service in Sullivan.
"One year, there was a pretty severe lightning strike at the Rock County Jail. We could see it and we could hear it," George said.
Evacuations happen when necessary though. Now, evacuations are to Adams Elementary School to the west. They had previously gone across the street to First Lutheran Church.
One year, there were multiple evacuations because of weather. An exhibitor refused to evacuate and was almost arrested as a result.
"The exhibitor didn't want to leave his animals behind," George said.
In 2017, country music artist Joe Diffie performed when rain came pouring down on the stage in the middle of the concert. The tour manager had a message for fair officials: "If you guys can't get that water off this stage, we're done."
"So, we're up there with brooms sweeping in the middle of the concert. We're like in the middle of the band, sweeping water and we just started dancing," George said
Sometimes, fair officials get bizarre moments or events out of left field. Sometimes they get walk-ins like an individual walking into the fair office this year taking the theme of "Christmas in July" too seriously to complain it wasn't a Christmas craft fair.
"They came in and wanted to get their money back," George said.
The fair sometimes has zealous exhibitors.
"Someone two years ago showed up with their cattle here a week early and started unloading them. He was really excited because he thought he was the first one here," George said.
There's bound to be items left behind at the fairgrounds every year.
"We have a healthy supply of hoses left in the water, shovels, brooms, rakes. No family has gone home with everything they brought ever," George said.
It's not only tools that fair officials may find left over.
"One year I had to bring a goat home because the fair was over and everybody was gone. Turns out it had gone through the sale but nobody knew where it was supposed to go," George said.
Sometimes, fair officials get the bizarre or events out of left field. Sometimes they get walk-ins like an individual walking into the fair office this year taking the theme of "Christmas in July" too seriously to complain it wasn't a Christmas craft fair.
"They came in and wanted to get their money back," George said.
Check, who has been in the position for 25 years, is the only full-time employee at the fairgrounds. If someone is missing a ribbon or if a trophy is missed, Check will order the trophy or track down the ribbon. She also hired 57 judges for this year's fair. Her office also had vet vendors for the fair.
What is the glue that holds it together amid the chaos?
"I wouldn't be able to do this job without my summer staff," Check said.
On the Monday prior to the fair starting, there are tables pushed together in the fair office that are full of banners, trophies, awards, ribbons and boxes for winners in every single winner. Eventually during the week, fair staff descend around the table when it has all the food from the fair
"There's an official food review that takes all the food with some of the most ruthless reviewers," George said.
Come the Sunday night of the fair after it closes, George, Check and others sit at the tables, and tell all the stories from another year at the fair
"After everyone's gone, the whole board ends up in here with a box full of corn dogs and maybe a few leftover beers from the beer tent and just reflect on the fair and we laugh very hard," George said.
