To provide comedy ventriloquism and variety marionette shows and provide accompanying workshops on the construction and use of sock puppets. Puppets are a powerful way of bringing story to life and appeal to adults and children alike. The show will stimulate imagination and allow children to learn through play.
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.
We have an old farm house that the Anoka County Historical society uses during the fair to demonstrate what it was like to live in the early 1900's. It is in need of some restoration. The first thing we are going to do is rebuild the entire front porch. That includes floor, railing, painting and possibly needing structural support underneath.
We are going to have a different balloon artist this year. We are inviting a southeast Minnesota resident to perform for our youth. We will also have The Red Letter Band, an inspirational country music band. They perform a variety of classic county hits and have prize giveaways for crowd participation. They provide a nostalgic opportunity to listen to music that all will enjoy.
The Legacy Grant funds will be used to enrich our guests with entertaining learning experiences. Funds will be used for all guests to learn a bit more of our history with a presentation by Rob Fairbanks, a Native American who motivates as he speaks to groups and teaches them of his life on the reservation and his ancestors way of life and how it relates today.
We are holding a blacksmithing demonstration where the blacksmiths will display as well as show how metal is forged and made into useful artistic tools and show when this art started. We are having an onsite pottery artist come and demonstrate how pottery is made and what is involved. We will have a local balloon artist come and show her many talents of balloon art as well as a face painter and a henna tattoo artist (which has been around for centuries). Live music from local Minnesota musicians will also be involved in the fun.
The St. Louis County Fair will be presenting several different programs that will reflect various art forms. These programs will be comprised of different entertainers including a couple bands playing musch that is multi-generational and multicultural (Finnish). We will also be presenting forging demonstrations.
The Educational Heritage Magic Show by Magician Tom Anderson - With period costumes from the 1800's, he will be using magic that would have taken place in the 1800's. Tom is also a balloon artist and will be offering a balloon twisting class. ?Musical performers will also perform at the fair.
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.
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.
We will have a totally new experience for one of our afternoon events for the youth at the Fillmore County Fair this year. We plan to bring "Emotion in Motion," a mobile splatter paint experience to our fair. This will be a fully immersive artistic experience, that is easy and fun for youth. When finished they will have an original splatter painting for their walls. We try to incorporate new things each year at the fair to accompany the traditional events that fairgoers expect.
The farming of lumber is a huge part of Minnesota history. In fact the towns of Bemidji, Akeley, and Brainerd, Minnesota have each boasted themselves the birth place of the famous Paul Bunyan. It is our goal to remind community members of this rich Minnesotan tradition of tree falling by having a demonstration of lumberjacks (a free event) at the fair this year. At the end of the lumberjack event there will be time for kids to do hands-on learning and training of how our ancestors worked with wood, not only to build homes but to create a living.
We have a home-grown Minnesota band for two nights: Todd Eckart and the Centerville Allstars. We are also adding to our history of the fairgrounds display.
We are excited to have the same pottery lady come back this coming year. She will be teaching a class where people can make their pottery, then she will kiln dry the pieces and bring it to the fair so people can learn how this process is done. We will have a local lazer engraver come to show how jewelry and leatherwork is done with a machine. The balloon artist is coming back along with a face painter and henna tattoo artists. We also intend to have a local sled dog musher visit with his dogs to teach fairgoers how important sled dogs were in the early days.
The legacy portion of this grant will go toward a magician/entertainer who will initially stroll the grounds interacting with fairgoers (mostly youth) demonstrating balloon animals and then having a sit-down magic show twice a day. We will be have fiber weaving/crafting demonstrations throughout the fair week. These demonstrations will be done by 2 people showing from start to finish how fibers (sheep, dog, etc.) are spun into yarns and then woven into other products. We will also be enlisting one of our locals in demonstrating the art of forging.
RJ Kern's photography shows feature storytelling and agricultural photography and will be coming to our fair this summer. RJ does different shows: Being a National Geographic agricultural photographer; Being a Commemorative Artist for the Minnesota State Fair; The Unchosen Ones: Advice for 4-H Competitors and Life Skills Learned in 4-H; iPhoneography Tips for Your Award-Winning Photography; History of Agricultural Photography 101;
Historical Photography Demonstrations.
To bring a variety of cultural entertainment to the Waseca County Free Fair, including yodeling, Bluegrass, Irish, Alpine, Czechoslovakian, gospel and Americana music, a vaudeville show, and genealogical information from the Minnesota Historical Society.
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.
To improve the exhibit space for arts, cultural heritage, MN history displays at the St Louis County Fair by improving lighting and purchasing new display easels.
To offer new arts and cultural heritage programming at the Fillmore County Fair. Funds will be used to install a historical exhibit, host a bluegrass performance, and being a project that documents fairgoers experiences through interviews and photos. The project is meant to bridge the past and the future by helping local community members appreciate local history and share their own story for generations to come.
To highlight local talent by enhancing the fine arts display area with finished display cabinets. Additionally, funds will be used to bring live bluegrass music to the fair.
The Floodwood Four Rivers Legacy Encampment Park will make its debut at the 2012 Southwest St Louis County Fair. Located on the banks of the Floodwood River, the encampment will consist of several live, interactive demonstrations and displays depicting early trades and activities that took place on the area rivers. Fair visitors will enjoy activities such as birch bark canoe building demonstrations, fur trading reenactments, Native American homestead displays, and early logging equipment displays and demonstrations.
Funding supports an Irrigation Specialist to develop guidance and provide education on irrigation and nitrogenbest management practices (BMPs). In this position, Dr. Vasu Sharma provides direct support to irrigators onissues of irrigation scheduling and soil water monitoring. She is collaborating on the development of new irrigationscheduling tools that help irrigators manage water and nitrogen resources more precisely. These tools help reducenitrogen leaching losses in irrigated cropping systems.
The Lake Superior Beach Monitoring and Notification Program exists to test recreational beach water and notify the public if bacteria levels become unsafe. This project will expand the Beach Program to include additional outreach efforts, sanitary surveys and testing of new technologies to improve the Beach Program. Monitoring results will be used to inform the public, find the sources of bacterial contamination and address polluted runoff from improper waste disposal.
To offer new arts and cultural heritage programming at the St. Louis County Fair. Programming will include performances by Irish Dancers, a Native American pow-wow, children's theater, vaudeville, and music featuring a barbershop quartet, gospel, and Americana songs.
Native to the western United States and Canada, mountain pine beetle is considered the most devastating forest insect in North America. Trees usually die as a result of infestation and an unprecedented outbreak in the west is currently decimating pine forests there. While mountain pine beetle is not presently believed to reside in Minnesota, there are risks posed by an expanding species range resulting from warming climate and the potential for accidental introduction via lumber imports from infested areas.
To provide needed repairs to a historical building, the Old Church, on the Anoka County fairgrounds. Over 100 years old, the Old Church is also home to the Anoka County Arts Alliance during the week of the fair. The mission of the Anoka County Arts Alliance is to identify, provide support for, and promote the activities of the Anoka County arts community.
To offer new arts demonstrations at the Renville County Fair. Programming will include a performance by an educational vocal band, and demonstrations by an artist specializing in Chinese calligraphy.
