Wisconsin State Fair; crews prep fairgrounds, vendors brace for crowds
WEST ALLIS, Wis. - The 2024 edition of the Wisconsin State Fair officially kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 1.
The staff at the fairgrounds is anticipating one million fairgoers over the 11-day run. It is safe to say there is a lot of work that goes into preparing everything on the grounds.
The 2024 edition will be the 173rd Wisconsin State Fair. Staff say they have hundreds of vendors who have been getting their stands ready. That includes the beloved cream puff. That operation alone has around 500 workers.
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But not only are the vendors and fair staff preparing for Thursday, the animals are too. FOX6 News saw dozens of people making sure their cattle and other farm animals are cleaned up and ready to show.
Lastly, with the potential for storms on Thursday, there is also planning and preparing for the possibility the weather does not cooperate.
"We have dealt with it before, we’ve been around for many years. We’ll be ready for it and we have ways of communicating with our staff and our vendors and we will just make sure we get the word out if we need to," said Kristi Chuckel, Wisconsin State Fair Director of Public Affairs. "Our staff is running around, of course setting up as well, and just putting finishing touches on everything."
Kristi Chuckel
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There is a crew from the National Weather Service at the fairgrounds. They are tasked with keeping track of the weather situation – minute by minute.
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"We have evacuation plans if it got that bad. But, we are constantly monitoring the weather, the National Weather Service actually comes in and helps us keep track of everything," Chuckel said.