The Muscatine County Fair is about to embark on its biggest project since it began upgrading the grounds in 2015, a $2 million Event Center which will replace the Activity Center.
“It will be our largest project to date,” says Kelsey Meyers, Muscatine County Fair Manager. “The need is there, during the fair and outside of the fair as well.”
The Activity Center is the central hub of the Muscatine County Fairgrounds. It houses most events held throughout the year and plays a pivotal role during the annual fair.
The new Event Center will contain an 8,200 square foot room, surround by a series of smaller rooms that will consist of offices, meeting rooms, a kitchen and more.
In comparison, the current Activity Center is 7,200 square feet. Unfortunately, it’s starting to show its age, which has prompted the fair board to tackle the massive project.
“We really think this will not only boost our fair, but our town and our county as well because it will help bring in people outside of our town and county,” says Meyers.
“There’s several people looking for a big space to hold an event,” she adds, noting the new Event Center will accommodate more than 500 people.
The Muscatine County Fair kicked off its first capital campaign in 2015 with a new swine pavilion. Construction occurred from March to June, taking 50 volunteers and 100 volunteer hours.
Since then, the Muscatine County Fairgrounds has completed 21 other capital projects, including upgrading its showrooms, a new Heritage Hall and redoing the fine arts building.
“They’ve all been paid for in cash, they’ve all been on budget, they’ve all been done on time, the fair is very proud of that,” says Meyers.
The most recent project is a new stage for the Grandstands, which will be completed in the Spring 2024. Projects have ranged from $5,000 to $75,000 in scope.
“We’re very excited to be kicking off the capital fundraising campaign for the new event center,” says Manager Meyers. “It will replace the Activity Center.”
Like most of the other projects, the fair looked at upgrading the Activity Center first, but once they dug into the project, they realized it will be easier to build a new building.
Problems at the current Activity Center include out of date bathrooms, a troublesome HVAC, no real room for a kitchen, a lack of space and general wear and tear to the building.
The new Event Center will be built northwest of the Activity Center, meaning the old center will continue to stand until the new center is up. Afterwards, the old center will be torn down and used for parking.
Right now, the Muscatine County Fair is focused on fundraising for the Event Center. So far, they have found moderate success; however, they have just begun the search.
If all goes according to plan, they hope to break ground for the new Event Center in Spring of 2025, with the goal of opening it to the public by January 2026.
The Activity Center is a key part of the Muscatine County Fair, especially for the youth. Last year during the fair it was used in some capacity by 884 youth exhibitors along with 806 projects.
“The need is there,” says Manager Meyers. “Youth development in our town and our county is very important, we think of the youth as our future.”
If you or your organization would be interested in donating to the cause, please reach out to the Muscatine County Fairgrounds by calling 316-627-2412.
With all that said, these are exciting times for the Muscatine County Fairgrounds. Early last November it began teasing its big music act for the 2024 Muscatine County Fair.
“You are not even going to believe this!” stated the fairgrounds on Facebook, later urging the public to tune in for the big announcement.
“Just Announced! Tracy Lawrence is coming to West Liberty, Iowa, on July 20th! Drew Baldridge will be opening the show!” it revealed later in November.
Lawrence is an American country music singer and songwriter with 14 studio albums to date. He has charted more than forty singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including eight that have reached the number one position.
“I think it should help draw in not only people in our town to the fair, but people from our whole county to the fair and a significant amount of people from outside our county,” says Meyers.
Last year the fairgrounds hosted Country Musician Josh Turner in the Grandstands, which drew in a crowd comparable to those seen back in the 1990s according to Meyers.
“We had lots of positive feedback from that, and ticket sales as of today are very much trending just as the Josh Turner tickets trended last year,” she added.
Tickets can be purchased at the fair office or on its website, www.muscatinecountyfair.com. Your also encouraged to follow the Muscatine County Fair on Facebook.
Most of the other grandstand acts for the 2024 fair have already been announced, including the tractor pull, demolition derby and trailer races, along with the return of donkey racing.
Upcoming Events
On that note, the Muscatine County Fairgrounds will be hosting a series of fundraisers in the Activity Center during February that will benefit the upcoming fair in July, 2024.
First up is Pizza, Puzzle, and Pub night on Feb. 3. at 6 p.m., where teams of four will duke it out by competing to be the first to complete their puzzle, food and beverages.
The idea for the fundraiser actually came from the West Liberty Chamber of Commerce. It was first held back in 2022 when 13 teams of four competed.
In just a few years the event has grown, in fact, right now 27 teams are registered to compete, nearing the cap of thirty teams.
“We’ve had great responses, people have a lot of fun,” says Manager Meyers. “Everybody that participated had a great time, so there’s a lot of repeat teams.”
Next up is Weekend for the Fair, to be held Feb. 24, starting at 5 p.m. A Guy and a Grill will serve smoked pork lion and grilled chicken for dinner.
During the event there will be a live auction, with items and packages including a vacation spot, catered meals, artwork, cornhole boards and the ever-popular apple pie.
There will be a gun ticket raffle as well, with the ultimate prize being a Ruger American .350 Bolt Action Rifle. Meanwhile, Monica Austin will be performing in the background.
For those that have attended Weekend at the Fair in the past, they’ll notice the date has changed from June to February.
“We felt it was a little too close to the fair and there was a lot going on,” says Meyers, “We feel like people might have a little less going on in the winter, so we might get a better response.”
Tickets are $30. They can be purchased at the fair office or from any fair board member. They can also be bought at the door for $35 at the door.