Sherri Fogle sets up displays prizes for the duck pond game at the Lancaster County Super Fair's Heart of America Midway Carnival on Wednesday at the Lancaster Event Center.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Cathy Babcock, poultry co-superintendent, sets up for the 4-H poultry competition ahead of the Lancaster County Super Fair on Wednesday at the Lancaster Event Center.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Greg Crawford spreads bedding material for calves while helping his neighbor set up ahead of the Lancaster County Super Fair on Wednesday at Lancaster Event Center.
GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
Golf carts are loaded and ready to depart after the National High School Finals Rodeo on Wednesday at Lancaster Event Center.
Where the 5,000-square foot Boot Barn display at the Rodeo & Horse Expo stood a week ago, goats, rabbits and poultry now sit in its place at the Lancaster Event Center.
And that was far from the only area that saw such a rapid transformation.
Staff and volunteers were hard at work Wednesday afternoon, cleaning up horse stalls set up for the National High School Finals Rodeo, which ran from July 18 to 24. In those same horse stalls for the next four days, 4-H and FFA competitors will move their own livestock in for the Lancaster Super Fair, which will run from July 29 to Aug. 7.
With just five days between the two massive events, host venue Lancaster Event Center had to improvise.
"We started setting up before the rodeo left," said Hoyt Kraeger, business development manager for the event center. "As the rodeo was shutting parts down, we were making changes."
The steadfast work of the event center's staff and volunteers is needed to churn out a Super Fair that'll be "bigger than ever before," as Kraeger put it.
The Lancaster Event Center's board and staff began brainstorming on how to celebrate the Super Fair's 150th anniversary back in 2018. Kraeger said that those working knew that the fair would coincide with the NHSFR, but they did not expect the challenges that would come in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the original celebration plans. Last year's Super Fair was a blend of virtual and in-person events, where fairgrounds were closed to the public. There, a handful of 4-H and FFA competitors were socially distanced at the event, and all static entries like photography, cooking and clothing were submitted online to be judged and displayed virtually.
This year, event staff hopes to make up for 2020 by bringing in new events and exhibitions and putting a spotlight on the youth who get to compete in-person this year.
"It'll be back to the full fair experience rather than a diluted version like it was last year," Kraeger said.
More than 700 competitors are expected to show 5,000 exhibits during the 4-H and FFA Open Class and Livestock & Horse show, said Tracy Anderson, an extension educator with Nebraska Extension. The 4-H/FFA events will be available only Thursday through Sunday, after which the animals will be removed.
Judging had already began on Wednesday afternoon for 4-H static exhibitions inside the Lincoln Room, which had held a kids' recreation area just a few days before for the NHSFR.
In addition to bringing all the competitors back to the fair, the full carnival has been erected with classic and new rides, fair food and games. The Lancaster Event Center also brought three new free attractions to the Super Fair, where only one has been before.
This year, visitors can see Aussie Kingdom, a traveling show of Australian rescued wildlife; Wolves of the World, a traveling rescued wolf pack; and CowTown, an interactive barn experience.
There will also be a petting zoo, live music, a live mural painting and MotorMania -- which includes three different motorsport events held in the event center's new grandstand.
Volunteers are still needed to help put on the 150th anniversary celebration of the Super Fair, and volunteers will be sorted into jobs that appeal to their interests and skills, Kraeger said. The Lancaster Event Center is also willing to donate to any youth groups, church groups or community groups that lend volunteers.
The event staff and board expect that all of the hard work they're putting in will be worth it, Kraeger said.
"We wanted to bring the community together and exhibit our rural roots. ... It's to celebrate the last 150 years and say, 'Here's to the next 150.'"
Tickets: Free gate admission tickets are available at U-Stop, SuperSaver, West Gate Bank and Russ's Market from July 1 to Aug. 7. Tickets are $3 at the gate. (Tickets for MotorMania and the carnival are sold separately online.)
Parking: $5 per vehicle and cash only. Reentry is permitted on the same day with a parking pass.
Sherri Fogle sets up displays prizes for the duck pond game at the Lancaster County Super Fair's Heart of America Midway Carnival on Wednesday at the Lancaster Event Center.
Cathy Babcock, poultry co-superintendent, sets up for the 4-H poultry competition ahead of the Lancaster County Super Fair on Wednesday at the Lancaster Event Center.
Greg Crawford spreads bedding material for calves while helping his neighbor set up ahead of the Lancaster County Super Fair on Wednesday at Lancaster Event Center.