North Dakota State Fair Cancelled

(From Minot Daily News)

There will be no North Dakota State Fair in 2011.

Fair manager Renae Korslien announced Sunday that the nine-day event that had been scheduled to begin July 22 has been canceled due to flooding. It will be the first time since its designation as a State Fair in 1965 that the event won't go on.

"We tried. We tried hard, but the timeline got too short," Korslien said. "It's a disaster a disaster in our heart and a disaster on our grounds."

Flooded by the swollen Souris River at the end of June, the fairgrounds was to be free of water by now, based on original hydrograph data from the National Weather Service. That forecast led the fair board to move forward with plans for a fair, although without competitive exhibits that include 4-H and FFA.
A revised hydrograph from the National Weather Service now shows the Souris River will be receding more slowly than originally forecast. Initially, the forecast was for the river level to have reached 1551 feet on Sunday. That level is critical for draining the fairgrounds, which still had two feet of water on the midway Sunday. Now it appears that level won't be reached until Thursday, due in part to significant rainfall in the river basin Friday. That's a key delay when it comes to having the grounds ready in time.

Korslien said it was the unanimous decision of the fair board to cancel this year's event.

She said she is confident that the fair will be able to cancel the entertainers without cost. People who purchased tickets using a credit card will be automatically refunded by the end of July. It is not necessary to contact the fair if a credit card was used. People who pay cash will need to contact the fair office at 857-7620 or email ndsf@minot.com. The fair office will contact people with camping reservations by July 31.

Korslien reported the grandstand and State Fair Center remain dry because of the dedication of staff who have monitored those facilities around the clock and kept pumps running to ensure water stayed outside of the dikes.

"It was a great battle, and we won that battle. We would just liked to win them all," she said. "The city has been so wonderful to us, and so many other partners have come to battle this with us."
Korslien indicated the staff will be working now to be ready for Motor Magic over Labor Day and Norsk Hostfest at the end of September and other community events.

Chester Reiten, president of Norsk Hostfest, said there are no plans to cancel or change the venue for the Scandinavian festival. The preservation of the State Fair Center helps out Hostfest, although the event has outgrown that building and was using other fair buildings as well as relying heavily on the recreational vehicle parking.
The fair, which has no flood insurance, suffered damages to its barns, commercial buildings and other facilities that were not diked. Korslien said water remains in many of the buildings and mold was noticed growing above the water line in at least one structure, the Jaycee building. The north end of the fairgrounds is beginning to dry off, but drainage goes south, where the two feet of water remain. Korslien noted there's still a current on the grounds.

With Minot's water and sewer systems stressed by the flooding, there's also concern about whether infrastructure will be ready in just a few weeks to handle thousands of people on the fairgrounds.

Korslien said moving the fair to a different location never was an option. Finding another suitable location would have been difficult, she said.

The State Fair has been experiencing increased attendance in recent years. Last year brought a record attendance of 308,641 people.
The history of the fair dates back to a county event that started in Minot in 1922. A Minot delegation persuaded the Legislature in 1965 to designate its fair, known as the Northwest Agricultural, Livestock and Fair Association, as the North Dakota State Fair. The first State Fair was held in 1966. This year would have been the 46th annual State Fair.
In a prepared statement to fair supporters, Korslien stated, "We want to thank Minot city officials, our fellow North Dakotans from every corner of our state and the Minot residents for their support in these recent weeks. We were truly touched by the outpouring of support earlier last month when we announced our decision to proceed with the State Fair. It just reminds us all of what makes this state and city so special and it makes all of us in the State Fair family even more determined to make next year's fair even greater."