Record breaking year for Chase County Fair

Records fell throughout the week as Chase County residents enjoyed this year’s fair.
Highlighting the week’s activities was Saturday night’s concerts.
The Chase County Fair Board knew it had a sell out going into the night with more than 3,700 tickets sold. The fair board released another 500 tickets, around 200 of which were sold Saturday.
All in all, Saturday night’s concerts came within 15 tickets of a double sellout with 4,185 total ticket sold.
“It was amazing,” fair board member Jakob Burke said.
“Ian Munsick and Megan Moroney both put on a great show,” he added.
People were lined up to Park Street before the gates opened at 6 p.m. The crowd continued to file in after Moroney’s concert started at 7:30 p.m.
Burke pointed out that no one left after her concert and the crowd was even louder once Munsick took the stage.
Heat did effect concert goers. Imperial EMS dealt with several heat related problems. The fair board distributed 40 cases of water, nearly 1,000 bottles, to the crowd.
“It was good to have EMS on standby,” Burke said, adding people appreciated it.
The Chase County Sheriff’s Office and Imperial Police Department were also on hand. Several minor in possesion tickets were handed out and two arrests were made.
Friday’s concerts, Black Stone Cherry and the Southall Band, sold about where expected, Burke said, 1,696 tickets.
Though the bands had different styles, Burke thought both sounded great with the type of music they favored.
Besides the concerts, other events also went well.
Saturday’s parade had 55 floats, the most organizer Chris Lee said he’s seen.
The tent added in place of the old Beef Barn was used extensively throughout the fair and was a welcome addition with its picnic tables and shade. The tent also housed the RC Car Races.
Burke said everything on the fairgrounds ran smoothly.
Record sales also continued with the mega-ride passes and overall fair tickets sold. Between Friday and Saturday’s tickets, the mega-ride passes and Thursday’s tractor pull, over 7,400 total tickets were sold.
Between Wednesday and Saturday, 1,086 mega-ride passes were sold and the tractor pull sold 470 tickets.

Despite the heat later in the week, the evenings cooled off. Food venders felt like their sales were slow during the day, fair board member Scott Way said, but the excellent crowds in the evening compensated for the slower days.
The businesses in the Expo battled the heat, as well.
Ed Cupp said the Expo saw a lot of traffic, but trends are changing for events like it.
The air conditioned Expo buildings did well and foot traffic picked up for outside businesses once it cooled off in the evenings.
Overall, Burke said the fair board was very pleased with how everything ended up.
Fair board member Ryan Stromberger said volunteers are what make things happen at the Chase County Fair.
“We couldn’t have the fair we do without the multitude of volunteers we have,” Stromberger said.
Volunteers ranged from cooking the steaks donated by Walgren’s Supermarket for the Round Up supper Friday before the fair to clean up and tear down Sunday.
Plans are already being made for 2024. By next year the fair board is hopeful to have a new ticket booth and entrances at the north end of the Grand Stands.