July 16, 2020 at 2:19 p.m.
Oneida County Fair goes virtual: Contests, games, demonstrations and more to be featured through Aug. 28
Oneida County Fair goes virtual: Contests, games, demonstrations and more to be featured through Aug. 28
By Stephanie Kuski-
OCF organizers officially kicked off the Virtual Fair with a livestream of the opening ceremony on July 9, which featured various guest speakers and a special performance by Kerry Exotic, "The Hodag King."
The fair is set to run through Aug. 28 and all events will take place via OCF's various social media platforms, including its website, Facebook and Instagram. Live demonstrations, virtual contests, games and more will be posted on those platforms for the public to view online while social distancing.
OCF committee members and volunteers were instrumental in implementing creative plans to move forward with this Virtual Fair.
"We just felt that it was important to do something, other than just shutting down the fair and being quiet," OCF Coordinator Tom Barnett explained. "You can still have a good time, you can still have fun, you can still enjoy things; you just gotta do it in a different way now."
"We're trying to incorporate things you'd normally see at the fair, just virtually," he added.
By that design, the Virtual Fair offers a smorgasbord of entertainment to look forward to in the weeks ahead.
On Tuesdays throughout July and August, the Virtual Fair will host a scavenger hunt in which participants are to find Ollie Oneida, the social distancing bear created by Barnett.
Each week, OCF committee members will take turns hiding Ollie throughout Oneida County and will post clues about his possible whereabouts. Participants who find the bear can snap a picture with Ollie and post it to OCF's media platforms for a chance to win a prize.
One goal of this event and others is to get community members outside participating in the fair while encouraging social distancing measures as recommended by local health officials, Barnett explained.
Another effort to facilitate that vision will take place on Saturdays throughout the duration of the fair, in which Pioneer Park Historical Complex Director and OCF committee member Kerry Bloedorn will host History in Oneida County, videotaped by The Hodag Store owner Ben Brunell. Bloedorn will take viewers on a virtual quest in highlighting the historical significance of various sites throughout Oneida County with the hopes those interested may choose to visit those sites on their own.
"We're trying to go out of our way to figure out how to incorporate the entire county," Barnett added, "because we feel it's important that everyone in this county is represented."
In addition, there will be many more contests, demonstrations and other posts to look forward to in the coming weeks.
The public can also participate in the Sexist Men's Legs in a Kilt Contest, the instructions for which are available on the fair's various media platforms. Those who don't participate by submitting photos of their great calves can still vote for their favorite contestants, the top three of which will be judged by a panel of guest judges and announced at a later date. The winner will receive the coveted grand prize wrestling belt that has been featured at previous fairs.
The Virtual Fair will also feature Pets of Oneida County, in which interested participants can post photos of their furry friends to OCF's various media platforms. Along the lines of that animal theme, Barnett and OCF Treasurer Meg Sprecksel will also host a video segment at the animal encounter enclosure at Wildwood Wildlife Park in Minocqua on July 17.
Later in July, Girl Scout Troop #7055 will feature a craft demonstration where interested participants can follow along and are encouraged to build their own crafts.
On July 31, Sprecksel will co-host a Haunted Investigation at the Pioneer Park Historical Complex with local paranormal investigative group EVP.
This highly-anticipated event will be streamed on the fair's media platforms, so virtual fair attendees will have to stay tuned to see if Sprecksel is spooked or spoofed.
"We want that excitement, that real reaction when something happens to Meg, because she's hilarious," Barnett said genially. "So I'm hoping something scares the heck out of her."
Later on in the Virtual Fair, Forth Floral will host a container contest in which interested participants are encouraged to decorate a potted plant and patrons can vote for their favorite arrangements. Forth Floral will display those completed projects for voting, and participants may choose to pick up their supplies there if they wish.
A Junior Talent Show will also be hosted in August and is another way to get community members disconnected from their screens while participating in something creative. Instructions for video submissions will be announced on Aug. 8. Fair attendees can vote for their favorite acts to choose the top three contestants that will be judged live later in the month, and the final grand prize winner will be announced on the last day of the fair.
Even more events will be featured throughout the month of August.
The Fun Factory Sweet Shoppe will host a game in which participants are to guess how many candies are in a jar and the closest guesser will win the jar of candy. Other events later in August include a 4-H Day, a Beekeepers Day and a live wood carving demonstration by Potlicker Sculptures.
Oneida County restaurants have also been invited to participate in the Virtual Fair by offering various fair-themed foods for patrons to try throughout the fair's duration.
"That way people can get their fair food without going to the fair," Barnett commented. "We wanted it to be something they don't normally sell, so it would be different and entice people to go there."
The Fun Factory Sweet Shoppe will offer an exclusive fair-themed popcorn flavor; A'la Mode will feature cotton candy ice cream; Backwaters Bar & Grill will have cheese curds and mini corn dogs, in addition to deep fried brownies; and the Butcher Shop Bake Company will offer a fair-themed cookie. CT's Deli, Briar House and Northern Grounds Coffeehouse will also participate by offering fair foods, and more restaurants will hopefully be added to that list as the Virtual Fair continues.
Up-to-date information about events and offerings will be posted to OCF's various media platforms as that information becomes available.
Although this year's fair will inevitably look much different compared to past events, Barnett said he hopes to incorporate some aspects of this year's Virtual Fair into future fairs.
"We're thinking that when the fair actually does get to come back, we're going to keep some of this live aspect," he commented. "We're really interested in keeping the livestream going."
At the Virtual Fair's Opening Ceremony on July 9, OCF President Fred Andrist echoed Barnett in commenting that the organization is always trying to generate a greater online presence, and this was one way to accomplish that goal.
"I think this is a great idea: you're still offering something to the public that was originally going to be there and now it can't," OCF Vice President Bill Freudenberg added. "I'm hoping that the youth get excited by it."
"It's a very creative idea and we're proud that we'll have a Virtual Fair this year," Oneida County Board Chairperson Dave Hintz commented at the opening ceremony. "We're in the middle of a pandemic, so we appreciate everyone stepping forward and making the best they can of our circumstances in continuing the tradition of the fair."
That tradition of the OCF is one that is well ingrained in the fabric of our community, considering it's been around since 1896 when Gene Shepard first showcased his captured Hodag to fair attendees.
While OCF's landscape has changed dramatically over the years, one aspect has remained at the forefront: a shared, concerted effort to promote the community.
This year, the Virtual Fair is carrying on that tradition by doing what can be done given the current conditions by getting community members and local businesses involved in a fun, creative way. But because OCF isn't collecting ticket sales, and because they didn't solicit local sponsorships as they typically do given the economic instability precipitated by the pandemic, organizers of the Virtual Fair are asking for community members to show their support by making monetary donations through the various media channels.
"During this Virtual Fair, we're going to have a 'donate' button on the videos... and we're hoping that people who are enjoying it will hit that 'donate' button and donate five or 10 bucks here and there," Barnett explained. "Hopefully it will all start adding up to make up for that shortfall we're going to have this year."
He added that at the end of the fair, they'll host an old-school Jerry Lewis-style 24-hour telethon in order to raise money to fund these events and support next year's fair.
Those links to donate, as well as all other information, posts and videos associated with the Oneida County Virtual Fair are available on the fair's website at www.ocfairwi.com, on Facebook at Oneida County Fair and on Instagram @ocfairwi.
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