CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH FAIR MANAGER VICKIE MICHEAU
For a while on Wednesday afternoon, Vickie Micheau was nervous.
The power went out at the U.P. State Fairgrounds, and soon, she, as the top manager for the U.P. State Fair, would have to decide if to cancel the evening’s entertainment in the grandstand. But almost in a nick of time, the power was restored, and the show went on as scheduled for the 96th annual event in Escanaba.
“We were without power at our grandstand offices in for more than three hours,” Micheau told RRN News. “It got to the point were it got very close to the time that we had to make the decision on whether or not the grandstand entertainment would continue. We were calm. We were methodical. And we were problem-solvers on the fairgrounds.”
Micheau says that a lot of people worked together, quickly, to save the day.
“The City of Escanaba just came right over, checked our power, they re-routed power, so that our vendors wouldn’t have a problem and they could stay open,” Micheau said. “Skerbeck Entertainment Group brought in one of their big generators and hooked up our grandstand, because we were very worried that we were going to lose our grandstand show. They dropped everything to help us. And Sunbelt Rentals brought over generators so that we could be sure that today (Thursday) the show will go on. This is a wonderful community that we live in. We are so appreciative.”
Micheau says that Wednesday, in fact, turned out to be one of the best days for attendance in the history of the UP State Fair.
“It was important to our vendors that they be able to keep functioning when we had a record number of people come through the fairgrounds on a Wednesday afternoon and night,” Micheau said. “We filled the north parking lot. We filled the south parking lot. Believe it or not, the parking lot between the fairgrounds and Walmart was filled as well. There was a lot of people on the fairgrounds. A record for a Wednesday.”
Also, Micheau says a cornhoe tournament on Tuesday and racing in the grandstand on Monday night, helped to boost attendance early in the week. And the rain held off for most of Thursday, keeping the afternoon activities dry before putting a damper on the evening activities. The fair runs through Sunday, when a fireworks display will end it.
—Photos courtesy of U.P. State Fair
Comments