Back Row from left: Ben Harbach (Member at Large), Lon Wienke (Member at Large), Myron Daniels (Vice President)
By Gail Peckler-Dziki
Correspondent
The Kenosha County Fairgrounds are adjacent to the Wilmot Union High School and have an historical, symbiotic relationship.
First known as the West Kenosha County Fair, the property was developed in 1920 through cooperation between area schools, so there could be a fair.
The mutual relationship that the fair and Wilmot High School has maintained has been a benefit to both, according to people on both sides of the equation. In 1922, the high school and fair boards worked together to raise money to build the high school’s first gymnasium.
The community members worked together to raise money for the gym and no tax dollars were used.
From 1919 to 1948, the fair was held on school grounds and classrooms were used for exhibits.
That community cooperative effort continues to this day in the Kenosha County Fair Association, which is a private, non-profit organization that gets little financial support from government.
Last year, the Fair Board hired Denise Zirbel to handle the marketing and management of the fairgrounds.
Zirbel came to the Kenosha County Fair from the marketing department at 6 Flags in Gurnee, Ill.
“The fair is community- and family-oriented,” she said. “There is a generational continuity here. Many of our older members have lifetime of memories with the Fair.”
Zirbel has her own roots in Kenosha County and history with the fair. When she was still Denise Dannehl, she showed horses.
Husband Dave showed diary. Her children, Jared and daughter Jamie showed pigs and dairy.
Jared is now a dairy farmer in Brighton.
“Many folks on our fair board are the third generation of their families involved with the fair,” Zirbel said.
“There is infrastructure that must be maintained,” she explained in a recent interview. “That includes buildings, roads, plumbing and electrical issues.”
One important aspect is to recognize and capitalize on the way the fairground is an important community center.
Various groups, including the Kenosha Kennel Club, use the grounds. The club rents half the grounds during a September weekend.
Between 1,000 and 1,500 dogs are shown, and according to long-time fair association and Fair Board member Lon Wienke, some of those dogs made it all the way to the Westminster Dog Show in New York.
The 4-H horse project uses the grounds for multiple shows during the summer.
“We also rent a large building for boat storage during the winter,” Zirbel said.
The Saturday night races that happen at the Wilmot Speedway used to be held behind the high school
Now they happen on the fairgrounds and, depending on the weather, might generate some income to help maintain and improve the fairgrounds.
“Last year,” Zirbel said, “seven out of 21 race days were rained out. Some years the races break even, some years they make a little.”
Last year, the Fair received $6,800 from the state and that paid for premiums received by 4-H exhibitors. That’s not much more than the fair received in 1929, which was about $5,600.
Zirbel keeps a strong link between community sources and the fairgrounds. New this year is the Sunday flea market, which moved from Wilmot Ski Hill to the fairgrounds this year. Coming soon is a Wednesday farmers market that will be open from July 6 to Sept. 28. Zirbel is currently working with a group that plans to put on Terror at the Fair, a haunted house for Halloween.
The Fair Board, working with Zirbel and other area members, plans to keep and maintain the fairgrounds and the fair as a vibrant center of the community.
Fair Board officers are: Randall Rossi, president; Myron Daniels, vice president; Anita Phillips, treasurer/secretary; Lon Wienke, Don Epping, Ben Harback, and Ken Happ, representatives at large.
There are 14 other fair board directors and nearly 600 more members of the fair.
For more information about the 2016 Fair, visit www.kenoshacofair.com on the web or call the Fair
office at 262-862-6121.