SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

For Dan Deml, putting on a county fair is all about “selling the experience.”

Deml, who serves as president of the Steele County Free Fair, and his team of directors and volunteers have assembled what they hope will be another block buster year. The fair, which has become known as Minnesota’s largest county fair, officially kicks off Tuesday at 5 p.m. and runs through Sunday, Aug. 20.

“We hope we will provide an experience that they like and come back,” said Deml.

And indeed, the fair means business. Its slogan this year is “Satisfaction Guaranteed in 2023.”

Deml admits the task of producing a fair that exceeds the previous year becomes daunting at times.

“Come Sunday nights (the end of the fair) you just shake your head and go wow. How are we ever going to do this again?” Deml says. “Every year you try to find something new and something different,” he said.

One of the biggest draws for this year will be Jake Larson, a 100-year-old veteran who survived D-Day on Omaha Beach and is affectionately referred to as Papa Jake. He has become a TikTok star and been featured on national media outlets. Larson was born in the Hope area and graduated from Ellendale High School in 1940.

Papa Jake will be involved in the opening ceremonies on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Fair Square Stage. He will also be around for the remainder of the fair autographing books he has written about his war experiences.

“This fell out of the sky for us,” said Deml. “He has some incredible history with World War II,” he said, adding they are thrilled to bring Larson back to the fair he grew up attending.

The fair will feature two major headliners in the grandstand. On Wednesday, Locash with special guest Drake Milligan will perform at 7 p.m. Craig Morgan returns to stage on Friday at 7 p.m. after his performance was wiped out because of weather in 2021.

Another grandstand favorite, Hairball, will return for another show on Thursday at 7 p.m. The grandstand will also feature an antique tractor pull on Tuesday and the demolition derby on Sunday, Aug. 20.

Aesthetically, fair officials are proud of what has happened with the Great Outdoors Center (GOC). The renovation of the outside of the building has been completed with new windows and new lighting has been added inside, according to Deml. Many hunting mounts have been placed inside the building.

Educational exhibits will be offered in the GOC. One of them will include a program about falcons.

Acknowledging that many people haven’t been in the GOC for years, Deml encourages fairgoers to check it out this year. 

“As we’ve upgraded the building, it was an eye opener as to what it could offer,” Deml said. “It’s kind of a show piece.”

The GOC renovation and upgrade have taught officials a valuable lesson. “If you want something to go away, just do the same thing every year,” Deml said.

Fairgoers will also notice a facelift with the Livestock Show Arena where LED lighting has been added. A new floor and new signs have also been added in the arena, which hadn’t seen any upgrades for 20 years, Deml said.

He added the fair has spent more than $100,000 on maintenance upgrades throughout the grounds.

Steele County, which owns the fairgrounds, has put in a new tar road on the north side of the racetrack. “It will make traveling a lot easier for fairgoers,” Deml said.

The long-time president is looking forward to people coming out to this year’s fair. “We got what we have there because of the support of the community,” Deml said. “It’s a partnership—good for the fair and good for the community. It’s the county’s fair, not the fair board’s.”

Asked what keeps the fair rising to the top in Minnesota, Deml points to the free admission. He said Steele County was the first free fair in the state coming out of the Depression in the 1930s. “People didn’t have money, and if you could give them something free, they were tickled,” he said. “Bringing a whole family to the fair for free was almost unimaginable.”

Deml said there is “something for everybody” at the fair, which offers more than 100 food vendors and lots of free entertainment from musical shows to educational workshops.

“The large majority of people come to the fair every day, and it’s because they can come in for free,” Deml said. “The secret is to get them on the grounds—being free is a huge part of it.”

And Deml is certain people won’t be disappointed with the offerings at this year’s fair.

“If we can provide people a good experience, they are going to come back. They will be anxious to come back and spend money,” he said, adding that philosophy is all part of “selling the experience.”