Alpena fair officials pleased with turnout
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ALPENA -- Other than a rainy Thursday night that limited the crowd for a micro wrestling event at the Alpena County Fair, things have gone smoothly and attendance has been solid, fair organizers say.
The county fair kicked off last week with the livestock animals being brought in, but the rides and games in the midway didn't begin until Tuesday night.
There is still one large event to go, the Thumb Tractor Pull Association's competition tonight at 6 p.m.
Courtney Krentz, president of the fair, said so far, everyone is pleased with the turnout and how everything has gone.
"As a board, I know we are very pleased because everything has been rolling the way it is supposed to and the success of the fair is impressive to us," she said. "Not only with the events on our end, but also the 4-H with the animal shows and animal barns. The 4-Hers have knocked it out of the park this year. The barns are full and people are very happy about that."
It appears the weather will provide a spark today, as it is expected to be in the 80s, which should encourage people to come to the fair. Krentz said the tractor races begin early in the day, and the Thumb Tractor Pull will begin later in the day.
Krentz said the event isn't the largest, but it is something that has been around forever and many people like it for what it is.
"We start pulling in the morning with the local cycle club and then in the evening we begin to pull with big modified tractors," she said. "It's not our busiest event, but it is a tradition and very appreciated. We are really happy to be able to provide that to them."
Fair Manager Mike Arthur said that wasn't the case on Thursday when periodic thunderstorms forced the wrestling event to be pushed back. He said in the end, the event was well attended, but not as much as it would have been without the rain.
"We ended up with a pretty good crowd and they loved the show," he said. "We were at about half what the capacity is, but that is enough to break even and not lose money. People want them to come back, but we'll have to wait and see."
Arthur said from when the gates open until they are closed, the fairgrounds have been a busy place and that is good to see. He said the goal is always to put on an event that draws large crowds and after a few years of faulty fair and attendance, it looks like things have rebounded.
"This is probably the best year overall that I have seen," he said. "The appreciation for the fair and 4-H from the general public has been surprising. We had a few complaints, you always get a few, but we have done the best we can to give everybody what they are asking for and our goal is to improve a little bit every year."