“Upping the Ante”

Once a year, various fairs throughout the United States and Canada gather to their respective zone's meeting. This zone meeting provides networking opportunities, workshops, and insights that are beyond state boundaries but still within a specific region. 

 

Over the weekend, the Iowa State Fair hosted the Zone 5 Conference. Zone 5 includes state and county Fairs from Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. More than 300 people from across the 5 states came together for the weekend’s events.  This year’s conference theme was “Upping the Ante”. 

 

The theme fit perfectly with the Prairie Meadows Casino location. Even more importantly, the sessions and information shared to participants were designed to help Fair’s individually and as an overall industry, raise the stakes for the future. 

 

The conference had speakers, workshops, and panel presentations about Fair related topics. There were sessions on natural disasters, marketing techniques, and agricultural programming. There was information shared on livestock, food, and commercial exhibitors. There was a tour of the Iowa State Fairgrounds and gathering in the Jacobson Exhibition Center.

 

The Blue Ribbon Foundation had the opportunity to present on Foundation’s and Fundraising. Our Foundation is one of the most established Fair Foundations across the country. It was nice to be able to share our history, various programs and what has or hasn’t worked for our organization through the years. We even ran longer than the allotted time slot because of the audience questions. I think our staff was able to help other Fairs that are just starting or wanting to expand their own Foundation. 

 

Besides the business accepts of the conference, there was plenty of time for fun! Thanks to the gracious sponsors, attendees were eligible to win door prizes throughout the conference. After dinner, two representatives from each state participated in a Fair themed “newlywed game”. I’ve never seen so many adults laughing about favorite fair foods and livestock animals. 

 

I grew up attending my local county Fair in addition to the Iowa State Fair. It was interesting to hear the prospective on a topic from a small Fair versus a Statewide Fair. There are different struggles and successes for each. The Zone 5 conference is the perfect place to share stories and learn from one another.  I've personally learned very quickly that the Fair Industry is full of genuine people. Each Fair is more than willing to help one another. I think that’s what makes Fairs so special.