This past Labor Day weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the 2012 Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island. It was a great weekend filled with cattle, fried food, and “High Flying Fun,” as this year’s theme promised.

This was my second year showing at the State Fair and it did not disappoint, although the weekend was hot and the barn was extremely crowded with over 1,000 calves and their handlers crammed inside.

Former Alliance High student and 2010 graduate Sage Henderson, Connor Wright, AHS junior, and I represented the Alliance FFA chapter in the state beef show.  In the market classes, Connor’s lightweight feeder steer received first purple, Sage’s middleweight steer received a purple ribbon, and my heavyweight steer was the second purple and the Heavyweight Reserve Champion. In showmanship, Sage was a purple ribbon and competed for the overall Out-of-School Showman. Cody Henderson, Sage’s younger brother, showed sheep and goats in 4-H and exhibited a purple ribbon goat.  Chris Wright, AHS sophomore, showed a steer in the 4-H division and showed the second purple shorthorn steer.

The State Fair has been held on the former Fonner Park grounds in Grand Island for the past three years.  It moved there from its previous home in Lincoln in 2009.  Fonner Park still houses the horse racing facilities, but now it also contains three livestock barns, a show arena, an Exhibition building, and the 4-H and FFA exhibit hall.

I talked to Hemingford resident and Fair enthusiast Patrick Jespersen, who spent his State Fair career showing in Lincoln, and he said that the new facilities are much nicer and larger than the former ones in Lincoln; the new grounds are also much more organized, he added. Patrick said that his favorite part of the State Fair being held in Lincoln was that they were able to attend the season opening Husker game while they were there. His only complaint about the new building in Grand Island is that by moving the Fair to its current location, it attracted many more beef exhibitors and the current building is barely large enough to hold the thousand head of cattle, plus all of their tack.

The Nebraska State Fair had a lot of great food to choose from, many commercial vendors selling their wares, and numerous fun activities to keep visitors entertained.  There were food vendors from all over the Grand Island area and beyond selling everything from fried Twinkies, good barbeque, and red velvet funnel cakes, to Greek food, turkey legs, and fresh squeezed lemonade.

All throughout the grounds, there were vendors selling novelty items. My favorite vendors were selling really pretty jewelry, custom embroidered jackets, t-shirts, jeans, and cowboy boots. There were also entertainment acts scheduled to perform throughout the Fair. Visitors could see a magician doing magic tricks in a box, a sea lion show, numerous parades, and the hilarious Napa Showbot, a renowned comedian, joking with State Fairgoers. New to the fair was the “Sky-Tram,” which transported visitors from one end of the grounds to the other, while also giving each rider an aerial view of the Fair.  “The Fray”, Billy Currington, and “The Steve Miller Band” were some of the fair’s headlining concerts.

Even though the State Fair was hot and crowded, I enjoyed the experience very much. The Nebraska State Fair is an event everyone should experience and one that has something for everyone to do and enjoy. The 2012 Nebraska State Fair was a successful weekend filled with “High-Flying Fun.”