To collect and collate historical photographs, memorabilia, and personal stories in order to preserve the history of the McLeod County Fair. The fair will seek out stories and request historical items, for loan or donation, to the McLeod County Agricultural Association. During the 140th anniversary of the fair, visitors can view a history display. Funds will be used to preserve a piece of Minnesota's heritage in a single collection, while educating the public with displays.
To enhance fairgoers access to the arts by adding a sound system to an existing stage area, adding display cases in the Heritage Building, and expanding art demonstrations.
Develop and implement an integrated brand awareness and marketing campaign to increase awareness and familiarity of the park system service offerings to Dakota County residents and increase new use throughout the park system. The campaign will use print, digital and other media strategies to inform a broad and diverse audiences with targeted approaches appropriate for those audiences.
Develop and implement an integrated brand awareness and marketing campaign to increase awareness and familiarity of the park system service offerings to Dakota County residents and increase new use throughout the park system. The campaign will use print, digital and other media strategies to inform a broad and diverse audiences with targeted approaches appropriate for those audiences.
Build trailhead to the Big Rivers Regional Park including restrooms, drinking water, information center, picnic canopy, an expanded parking lot, accessibility improvements, and interpretation of historical/cultural/natural resources
To restore several Dakota City building exteriors on the fairgrounds, in collaboration with Dakota City Heritage Village. These local structures that portray a 1900 era rural village include the 1867 Vermillion Presbyterian Church, the belfry of the District 96 one room school, and the 1861 frame structure that was originally built as a school and most recently used as the millinery and dressmaker’s shop.
Mississippi River Regional Trail, construct 5.2 miles to connect ?Inver Grove Heights to the Pine Bend Scientific and Natural Area to lower Spring Lake Park Reserve.
The McLeod County Fair will contract with Minnesota artists of various talents and styles of music from polka bands to multi-piece bands and acoustic performers that cover original songs to classic hits from a variety of genres. We strive to cover a broad range of styles that suit all aged attendees of our fair, as well as providing the opportunity to expose new music styles to those that may not have otherwise considered listening elsewhere.
The demographic for Benton County needs access to quality arts and culture and historical programming. We will utilize our Activity Area and Cottonwood Stage to introduce some art forms to the visitors of our Benton County Fair programming. Our fair has a high attendance and it provides the perfect opportunity to enhance an introduction to arts through our programming and events.
We would like to have our local blacksmith's guild members give demonstrations throughout the week of our fair in the blacksmith shop located in our Heritage Village on the fairgrounds. We could get many demonstrators to demonstrate the equipment that we have in our heritage village buildings such as spinning, weaving, quilting, and cooking. We also may have an opportunity to have a threshing demonstration by the local machinery men that meet here in Dakota County. We hope to contract a chainsaw artist and/or the Paul Bunyan Live show to have here the week of the fair.
Benton County is listed as one of the rural counties of Minnesota with lower access to the arts and culture, and has a low number of museums. As a larger event venue that provides access to the community, we utilize a couple of areas in our fairgrounds to provide access to programming that encourages participation and access to those areas. Emotion in Motion is one of the acts that we are looking forward to working with in our activity area. Families and children will enjoy an interactive program that benefits their creative process.
The chainsaw artist would be able to give many demonstrations throughout the week of the fair. We will contract the Lumberjack show for all seven days of the fair and have lumberjack camps and shows. We will have scheduled three shows a day.
1. SECOND EDITION OF McLEOD COUNTY FAIR HISTORY: 1993 through 2022 for our 150th Celebration. Our Legacy project is a continuation of documenting our agricultural association's history. The first edition of the book covered our beginning years in the late 1800's up through 1992. This second edition book will cover the years of 1993 - 2022, the year of our 150th Celebration. This important documentation of our past will preserve our agricultural history in our community and serve as the foundation of the legacy that we will carry on for future generations.
To upgrade and replace display cases for 4-H. The Dakota County Agricultural Society has enhanced the display capability for the 4-H program to improve viewing and safety.
To provide programming that tells the story of Dakota County's 160 years of settlement, Minnesota history and cultural traditions, through an entertaining tent show that combines story telling and original music. The show will be reminiscent of the 1900s era Chautauqua programs. It will be performed daily in the tent at Dakota City Heritage Village.
