North Dakota State Fair Receives Five International Awards

(Minot, ND) The North Dakota State Fair has received five first place Awards of Excellence from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) headquartered in Springfield, MO.
The North Dakota State Fair received a first place Agriculture Award in the Overall Program for Commercial Agricultural Exhibitors category and brought home three first place Communication Awards for its 2009 advertising campaign. First place awards received were for Color Newspaper Advertisement, Magazine Advertisement and Printed Promotional Material – Brochure / Flyer. The final awards won by the Fair included a first place Competitive Exhibits Award in the General Competitive Exhibit Display Photo and the Competitive Exhibits Award of Excellence, for the Fair’s overall entries in the Competitive Exhibits category.
The awards were presented during the 119th annual IAFE Convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are a total of 13 Agriculture award categories, 15 Communication Awards and 10 Competitive Exhibits categories, each divided into 5 divisions based on attendance. The entries are evaluated and judged by a team of industry leaders, selected from the membership of the IAFE.

IAFE Marketing Awards

Along with the Agriculture Awards, we also took 1st place in five marketing / communication divisions. Kranzler Kingsley, our advertising agency, created the look and ad copy for each of the categories we won. Kranzler Kingsley has some of the best talent at their agency and they excel in every project they take on! Kranzler Kingsley creates all of the promotional material for the Fair from print, radio, TV, online and even social media, they do it all! The following awards were presented to NDSF at the 2008 IAFE Convention December 17th, 2008.

1. Newspaper Ad - Black and White
2. Newspaper Ad - Color Print
3. Printed Promotional Material - Brochure
4. e-Newsletter
5. Web Site

IAFE Agriculture Awards

In August 2008 we began reviewing and recapping the '08 Fair. Also during that time we submitted several of the Fair's activities to the IAFE Agriculture Awards. This year we won 5 Agriculture awards as well as a "Best in Division Award." Kristie, the Fair's Competitive Exhibits Director, accepted the award. For each of these awards we competed against Fairs that are our size and are located throughout North America. The 2008 Agriculture Awards we took first place in included:

1. Program for Competitive Agriculture Exhibitors
2. Agriculture Program for Non- Agriculture Fairgoing Public
3. Overall Program for Commercial Agriculture Exhibitors
4. Green Program - Water Day

We also received a 3rd place award for our Daily Schedules. The awards were presented at the annual IAFE Convention in Las Vegas December 16.

Entertainment at IAFE

It's getting down to crunch time and we really need to finish booking our talent for the free stages at the ND State Fair. While at the IAFE Convention we learned that the majority of entertainers and shows have been booked for 2009. Luckily we found some really crazy and freaky entertainers who are still available, one being Russ Leno a sand sculptor who is most notably known for his pumpkin carving abilities. He is a really nice down to earth kind of guy who can carve just about anything out of a pumpkin (see pic). Another act featured within the same talent agency is John Shaw, who in our office we call the "Freak Guy." John can put a corn kernal up his nose and have it come out of his eye. He performs magic and illusions with lots of audience participation. I think it would be a great act for the Flickertail Beer Gardens. Click this link to see some of his most notable stunts.

IAFE Convention

The ND State Fair staff spent last week in Las Vegas attending the International Association of Fairs and Exposition (IAFE) 118th Annual Conference. We mingled with nearly 3,500 other employees who work for and organize Fairs and Rodeo's throughout North America. The most valuable aspect of the conference were the workshops and round table discussions. They allowed us to learn how we can make the North Dakota State Fair stronger and more enjoyable for our attendees. There was also a large trade show where we could check out entertainers for our free stages and get information on new products and services that are provided within the industry. As you can see we also got to meet some pretty cool people from other Fairs.

RMAF Convention Wrap Up

The remaining days of the conference were filled with hilarious key note speakers, motivating workshops and awe inspiring entertainers. Two excellent speakers at the conference were Patrick McGaughey, a self proclaimed Enter-trainer who spoke on increasing sponsorships, and Dr. Marty Becker, who is a popular veterinary contributor to Good Morning America that kept us all laughing while discussing the bond between humans and animals. Both speakers came across extremely intelligent yet light hearted and had a lot of information to contribute to our Fair-themed discussions. All in all it was a great four days in Idaho. After every meal was a showcasing session. This is when entertainers could perform for us. I felt bad for the entertainers since they are performing in front of some of the toughest critics, a room full of talent buyers! That said there were some pretty ugly showcases but for the most part we found some great talent including The Gothard Sisters. Next conference: IAFE here we come!