Emmet County board starts prepping for 2023 fair

Jillian Fellows, The Petoskey News-Review
·2 min read
Driver Mac Plecker of Georgia torques his monster truck, "Ballistic," to a flying vertical leap over a single car before a sold-out crowd during the Monster Truck Show at the Emmet-Charlevoix County Fair in Petoskey.
Driver Mac Plecker of Georgia torques his monster truck, "Ballistic," to a flying vertical leap over a single car before a sold-out crowd during the Monster Truck Show at the Emmet-Charlevoix County Fair in Petoskey.

PETOSKEY — Entertainment for the 2023 Emmet-Charlevoix County Fair is starting to shape up, as the board of commissioners approved five contracts during their meeting on March 6.

“As we get closer to summertime, there will be more contracts that come,” said county administrator David Boyer. “These contracts go through the fair board and discussion of the fair board. Once we put the contracts in place, then we bring them back to you for approval.”

Boyer said the goal of the fair entertainment is “that these are all revenue producing and will offset with revenues either collected through the revenue or direct sales (with) tickets.”

A large crowd attends the annual country concert at the Emmet-Charlevoix County Fair.
A large crowd attends the annual country concert at the Emmet-Charlevoix County Fair.

Starting with the monster truck show, the board approved a contract with Monster Truck Throwdown, LLC for the fair. The show has been a staple at the county fair for 11 years.

“If you like monster trucks, it fills the stands up and it’s a great family event,” Boyer said. “A little bit loud, but it’s a lot of fun.”

The board also approved a contract with promoter The Howard Pitch Entertainment Company.

“We’ve been using them for the last six years,” Boyer said. “They help secure our concerts and do all the work to make sure that we have everything in place.”

Subscribe:Check out our offers and read the local news that matters to you

A group of junior firefighters takes part in the Firefighter Show at the Emmet-Charlevoix County Fair.
A group of junior firefighters takes part in the Firefighter Show at the Emmet-Charlevoix County Fair.

The fan favorite Firefighter Show will be back again. Owned and operated by Neal Snyder, the show has been performing at the fair for over 10 years.

“They come out and do education,” Boyer said. “It’s another one of those events that gets great draw. Families come out and watch the show and learn something on fire prevention.”

The board also approved contracts with country singers Dylan Scott and Nate Smith. Smith will open the Aug. 23 concert at the fair, with Scott headlining.

“When we put these together, the fair board looks at the cost of all the entertainment and puts a budget together — so stage, lighting, sound, everything that goes in there — that’s how we set the ticket prices to cover the cost and, ideally, have a little extra funding that helps pay for other activities in the fair,” Boyer said.

The Emmet County Board of Commissioners will next meet at 6 p.m. on March 16.

— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com. 

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Emmet County board starts prepping for 2023 fair