Panel nailing down NV 150 Fair details

City government and private sector planners putting together the Nevada Sesquicentennial Fair four weeks away nailed down opening ceremonies and parking matters Wednesday.

The ad hoc committee working with Deputy City Manager Marena Works and Fair Manager Susan Taylor was given a rundown on the parking solution worked out with the Fandango Casino and Galaxy Fandango Theaters, which are a half mile from the fair site at Fuji Park and Fairgrounds. Fair patrons will be shuttled to and from the parking sites where at least 700 slots should be available.

Panel members got the rundown and discussed the kickoff ceremony set for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 31. The fair opens without a ceremony the evening before with a Battle of the Bands, but the official ribbon cutting will feature various dignitaries, among them Gov. Brian Sandoval and Mayor Robert Crowell and District 40 Assemblyman Pete Livermore.

John Tyson, Northern Nevada broadcaster, will sing the national anthem. Carson City’s Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department will handle color guard honors.

More details must be worked out for the July 30-Aug. 3 fair, but one pressure point alleviated was the need for a cadre of volunteers to help handle parking. The major problem with Fuji is too few spots with fair activity taking up much of the grounds. Despite that, Works still voiced need for volunteers to help work at the fair.

“I don’t know exactly how many we’ve got, but we always need more,” she said. A fair volunteer orientation session is planned tentatively for July 22,Taylor said. However, details for that would be nailed down later, she said.

Joel Dunn, executive director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, provided an outline of radio, publication and social media advertising and promotions to lure people to the fair. “It pretty much hits all our target markets,” he said.