Booking Free Stage Entertainment

Since it's nearly November it's time to start looking at booking entertainers for our free stages. The Fair has 12 stages of free entertainment, meaning with a paid gate admission Fairgoers have access to 12 areas of free entertainment. (This entertainment is different from that in the Grandstand, booking Grandstand talent is a different story for a different day). We try to book a variety of entertainment so hopefully there is something for everyone. I get calls and receive promotional materials from artists, entertainers and agencies on a daily basis. We usually look for the same types of entertainment to go on each stage, which provides us with a good mix of animal shows, comedy acts, singers and sports acts. As a staff we will soon be heading out to a convention in Idaho and one in Las Vegas. One of the main purposes of these conventions is to provide a place where entertainers and Fairs can meet up, this is where we will find and book the majority of our entertainment. More info to come on the entertainment we're looking at.

A Busy October for the State Fair Center

Believe it or not, the Fair is not the only event to take place on the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. In October alone, the State Fair Center played host to several large public events. The largest being Norsk Hostfest, North America's Largest Scandinavian Festival. As staff at the State Fair Center we're lucky to have the sights and sounds of these events right outside our office doors. (Some of us are also lucky that the lutefisk is made in a different room, far away from our office!) Hostfest was followed up by the annual Y's Men's PRCA Rodeo. If you've never been to the Y's Men's Rodeo you are missing out, mark your calendars now for next years rodeo which should be the second weekend in October. Finally, we'll end the month with the Big One Arts and Crafts Show. The Big One has both a spring and fall show each year to unveil the arts and crafts of hundreds of talented individuals. This provides a great shopping opportunity while the men are out bird and bow hunting. The State Fair Center also held auctions, flea markets and meetings in October.