Sioux Falls’ annual fair kicks off Friday night, and organizers are preparing the grounds for the week-long event. The Sioux Empire Fair includes music, games, food and shows. From popular music artists to park rides, funnel cakes to a famous dog show, the variety of attractions at the Sioux Empire Fair requires days of preparation on site.
"Vendors moving in; we’ve got the rides moving in. We’re finishing up some final work on electricity and water out here," full-time volunteer Jo Beal says. "We’ve got some new buildings that went up this summer, so we’re finishing up working on those. We’re doing some painting, getting everything all spruced up."
Beal says the April ice storm destroyed some of the trees on the grounds, so workers are planting new shade trees ahead of opening.
Concerts at the Sioux Empire Fair have a different price than years past. Music-lovers interested in grandstand acts at the Sioux Falls Fair just have to pay to get into the fair.
"With paid gate admission, you get in free to the grandstand, which is a $7 admittance to the fair and then you get into all of the shows in the grandstand that are free Sunday to Sunday," Beal says. "We have Hunter Hayes on Friday night, which we’re expecting a large crowd for. At the $7 ticket, you can’t really beat that, and it’s first come, first served so you want to be up front, you want to be here early to stand in line."
Beal says the gate admission includes other shows such as Hairball, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, and rodeo events. She notes that Godsmack plays before that deal kicks in. That concert Saturday night costs $35, but the ticket price also gets you into the Sioux Empire Fair.
The fair runs from Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 11, 2013.
Visit the Sioux Empire Fair's website for a list of events and details about the 2013 event. You can also find the Sioux Empire Fair on Facebook.