Editorial

State fair hitting its stride in new, closer location

Friday, August 22, 2014

"Greater Nebraskans" who live in our end of the state like to joke that our eastern Nebraska friends think the state ends at Grand Island.

We probably shouldn't be too harsh on them, our friends from Scottbluff and Chadron probably feel the same about us.

Be that as it may, it's great to see that the Nebraska State Fair's move "way out west" to Grand Island has turned out to be a success.

It opened today and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 1.

Yes, attendance peaked at 367,200 in 2009, the last year the fair was in Lincoln, but it's been climbing or holding steady each year since the move -- 309,400 in 2010, 333,043 in 2011, 336,987 in 2012 and 334,931 last year.

We expect this year's milder weather and new attractions to push attendance up once again,

A major attraction back in Lincoln was the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission's aquarium and wildlife exhibit, and a 6,500-gallon aquarium filled with fish from Nebraska lakes has reappeared in Grand Island, along with several other exhibits highlighting outdoor activities.

Fairgoers can get some help planning their visit by visiting www.statefair.org to find a tool that lists all scheduled activities and lets them build a custom schedule, or smartphone users can install a Nebraska State Fair app for Apple and Android operating systems.

Serious athletes can take part in what is billed as one of the flattest and fastest marathons in the nation, the Nebraska State Fair Marathon on Saturday, which is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

"Free" concerts are now accessible by purchasing a wrist band for a $6 "convenience fee," which can be purchased online instead of the old free concert wrist bands which were more difficult to obtain.

Adult tickets for anyone 13 and older cost $10 at the gate most days. Tickets for children ages 6 to 12 cost $3 and younger children are free.

But adult admission will be discounted to $5 on Monday and Wednesday of next week, and the admission charge for adults and children will be cut to $2 on Tuesday.

Chris Young performs today following a draft horse pull at 6 p.m., and upcoming concerts include Styx on Saturday, B.J. Thomas on Wednesday, Michael W. Smith on Thursday, Terry Fator on Friday, Karmin on Saturday and Brantley Gilbert on Sunday.

Check out more information at http://www.statefair.org/fair/

Western Nebraskans may think of Grand Island as "back east," but if you've never been to the Nebraska State Fair, this may be the year you should make the trip -- it will sbe horter than it used to be, and it shows promise of being well worth the effort.

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