May 30, 2025 • 9 mins
Allen County Fair Manager Troy Elwer joined Todd Walker Friday to detail more musical entertainment coming to this year's fair. He also talked about the giant wood sculpture just erected at the Fairgrounds.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Troy Elware is with us in studio this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
He is the fair manager for the Allen County Fair
and lots of things happening as we start to really
look forward to the summer season and of course the
Allen County Fair itself, and we'll talk about a lot
of different things coming up, but today we have news
from the fair as you guys have another entertainment option
(00:23):
coming in for the Fair.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Troy, first of all, good morning, Good morning Todd, thanks
for having me on.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, let's talk about an entertainment. Really, I don't want
to say it's a show, because it's three different shows,
I guess coming up for the Sunday of the Fair,
which will be August seventeenth, and this has a definite
oldies flavor to it, right.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yes it does.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
So we were trying to brainstorm some different ways that
we could kind of give back to the community that's
given to us for over our one hundred and seventy
five years of existence, and that's how we kind of
came up with this show. So there's going to be
multiple facets to it on this Sunday. So those of
(01:04):
you that have participated in or visited our car show
that we've started over the last couple of years. It's
all going to be incorporated into one event, one day,
and it's all for the most part going to be free,
which which is kind of the gift back to the community.
So things start off at one pm on Sunday. That's
(01:24):
when our car show will begin on the track. But
that is when a group out of Columbus by the
name of Direct Energy that plays classic rock music will
be performing on the stage in the grand stands. So
you'll not only be able to walk through the car
show and enjoy the classic cars, but you'll also be
able to listen to some classic rock music from Direct Energy.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
And that's the only Sunday of the fair, which will
be August seventeenth. So the car show goes on sort
of in the infield of the grand stand on the track.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
We're actually going to do it on the track, yeah,
because the infield will actually have some standing room options
available and some paid four tickets available up there right
at the front of the stage. But those are the
only paid tickets for this show. The party, pit, track
and grand stands are all free in general admission, gotcha.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
So you'll have all those classic cars out there and
Direct Energy plays at one and they're a classic rock
cover band. Then okay, so thanks continue though later in
the day you've got more music and this will all
be at the same spot, right.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Yes, same location. So the car show runs from one
to four o'clock. And then once the car show's concluded,
actually at four o'clock, we have the OSU Alumni band
playing out on the Nutrient Plaza stage just outside the
grand stands. So lots of entertainment opportunities going on once
they've concluded their show on the Plaza stage, working your
(02:50):
way back into the grand stands. Starting at five PM,
a group out of Chicago, another classic rock group from
the sixties called The Circle will be performing on the
stage in the grand stands.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Ye and if is that the same people that did
Red rubber Ball, Yes, sir, yeah, okay, and they spelled
it see why.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
R K l E. Yes, I recall, yep, you're exactly right.
I wonder if I have that in my I don't.
They're trying to look that up in our system here.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
But that was of course a big hit back in
the day, and they are still obviously active. So they
started five o'clock and then you've got the headliner, I
guess you'd say on August seventeenth, playing after the Circle.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Who is it? Yes, the headliner.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
He'll be taking the stage around six fifteen, six thirty pm.
The headliner for this show is the world renowned name
Mickey Dolans.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Aha from the Monkeys.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yes, exactly, so Mickey Dolans comes in about six fifteen
or six thirty.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
So that is awesome.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
And all those shows are also free admission except for
the party pay.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Or whatever you talked about it the stage front section. Yes, okay, yeah, yeah,
So there will be a limited, very limited number of
tickets available for purchase starting Monday, July twenty first, at
nine am. You'll purchase them the same way you've purchased
any of our other concert tickets. But that is a
limited number of tickets in the stage front area. There
(04:17):
will be seats there, but they are general admission. So
if you buy a ticket to that and you want
to be as close to the stage as possible, it's
first come, first serve.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
But we reiterate to be in there to see the
concert is free.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
I want to maybe upgrade your deal a little bit.
You can buy those special tickets. I guess you'd say,
you are exactly right. So that's happening Sunday, August seventeenth
with the Allen County Fair and the car show as
part of that day, So going to be a huge deal. Also,
you guys have been noticed of late because there's a
(04:52):
giant I don't know if you call it a sculpture.
It's a wood sculpture of your mascot for the fair,
which they I guess debuted. I guess it's probably been
ten or fifteen years now, right, the cow mascot for
the fairs called Maurice.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
And there's a giant wooden sculpture I guess is all
I could say about it in front of the fair grounds.
Is it on the three h nine side? It is, yep,
right across from beer barrel. Okay, well how did all
this come about? Because this is the guys that did
this are the same guys that are at the fair
every year, right, that do the chainsaw carvings.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Right, Yes, Bear Hollowood Carvers was the crew that did
this project. They brought in a crew of fourteen carvers
from all across the country to accomplish this project in
basically an eight day window and battling all kinds of
bad weather. So it was impressive itself that they were
able to persevere through all that and get this project done.
But where it all kind of started as I'd met
(05:51):
with Visit Greater Lima Betsy billings Lee over there quite
a few times, and we were trying to brainstorm some
ideas of how we could really drive more tourism to
Lima Allen County and help bring dollars into the community
and the businesses that surround us, but also find a cool,
fun celebratory piece for our one hundred and seventy fifth anniversary.
(06:13):
So that's how we came up with this sculpture project.
We saw what Nelson the Bigfoot over in Mercer County
has done for their fair grounds and their economy, so
we kind of tried to emulate that but put our
own unique twist on it with having our mascot be
the sculpture.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Now, the Sasquatch Bigfoot thing was that the bear hollow
wood carvers or it was it was they did that too, Okay,
So this is basically a conversation piece, a tourism piece,
and it's something that sort of fell in your lap here, right, yes, exactly.
So we're very grateful that Visit Greater Lima stepped up
(06:51):
and they were the funder behind this project to make
it all possible. And I believe that was through some
sort of grant program that they got those dollars in
order to put towards this project to make it all happen.
But there were forever grateful for the support that we've
gotten from them, and then obviously for the carvers. They
(07:12):
are extremely skilled and talented and being able to pull
something like this off is no easy.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Feet that thing is big. I mean, do you know
how tall it is? Yes?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Yeah, So he's just a little over twenty six feet tall.
He's sixteen feet wide, eighteen feet deep, and the shoes
he's wearing are actually size forty and they each weigh
about one thousand pounds, are as much as a grand piano.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Man shack thinks those shoes are big? Right, Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Now, really people can't r M. Can you approach it now?
Or should people not do it? What's are you going
to maybe put up a tent around him or what's
going to happen here?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Actually, we've already had quite a few people that just
pull off the side of the road or pull into
the main boulevard and go up and take pictures with them,
and we're completely fine and okay with it. We're not
necessarily encouraging people to do that at this point, just
because of the sole fact that there's still some work
to be done. We're going to put in some sidewalks
to make him more accessible and also redo the landscaping
(08:12):
around him. So once we've had his grand reveal and
ribbon cutting before the fair this year, then he'll be
open and available twenty four to seven, gotcha.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
And that is for the one hundred and seventy fifth
anniversary too, for the fair, So yes, that's a big anniversary.
And of course we talked a while back about your
main attraction, the Lauren Daegel concert. Tickets are continuing to
be on sale for that right.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Yes they are, and ticket sales are going very well
for that show. So I encourage folks that if you're
on the fence about going to that show or wanting
to buy tickets, that you do so sooner rather than later,
because the grand stands is actually almost sold out, the
bleachers are almost sold out, and the track tickets are
going fairly quickly, So if you were wanting to sit
(08:56):
in any of those sections as part of our concert vent,
you better get on those quick and you can do
that by going to Allencofair dot com and then it'll
direct you right to Etics, which is our trusted ticketing
provider for all of our events.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Gotcha.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
And to reiterate the announcement today, Direct Energy, the Circle
and Mickey Dolan's performing at the Fair in the grand stand.
That'll be a free concert going on with the car
show as well on Sunday, August seventeenth during the one
hundred and seventy fifth Allen County Fair. Troy El, we're
the fair manager with us in studio. Good stuff, Troy,
appreciate you stopping by. Hey, thanks for having me on, Todd,
(09:32):
I appreciate it.
Troy Elware is with us in studio this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
He is the fair manager for the Allen County Fair
and lots of things happening as we start to really
look forward to the summer season and of course the
Allen County Fair itself, and we'll talk about a lot
of different things coming up, but today we have news
from the fair as you guys have another entertainment option
(00:23):
coming in for the Fair.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Troy, first of all, good morning, Good morning Todd, thanks
for having me on.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, let's talk about an entertainment. Really, I don't want
to say it's a show, because it's three different shows,
I guess coming up for the Sunday of the Fair,
which will be August seventeenth, and this has a definite
oldies flavor to it, right.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yes it does.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
So we were trying to brainstorm some different ways that
we could kind of give back to the community that's
given to us for over our one hundred and seventy
five years of existence, and that's how we kind of
came up with this show. So there's going to be
multiple facets to it on this Sunday. So those of
(01:04):
you that have participated in or visited our car show
that we've started over the last couple of years. It's
all going to be incorporated into one event, one day,
and it's all for the most part going to be free,
which which is kind of the gift back to the community.
So things start off at one pm on Sunday. That's
(01:24):
when our car show will begin on the track. But
that is when a group out of Columbus by the
name of Direct Energy that plays classic rock music will
be performing on the stage in the grand stands. So
you'll not only be able to walk through the car
show and enjoy the classic cars, but you'll also be
able to listen to some classic rock music from Direct Energy.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
And that's the only Sunday of the fair, which will
be August seventeenth. So the car show goes on sort
of in the infield of the grand stand on the track.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
We're actually going to do it on the track, yeah,
because the infield will actually have some standing room options
available and some paid four tickets available up there right
at the front of the stage. But those are the
only paid tickets for this show. The party, pit, track
and grand stands are all free in general admission, gotcha.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
So you'll have all those classic cars out there and
Direct Energy plays at one and they're a classic rock
cover band. Then okay, so thanks continue though later in
the day you've got more music and this will all
be at the same spot, right.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Yes, same location. So the car show runs from one
to four o'clock. And then once the car show's concluded,
actually at four o'clock, we have the OSU Alumni band
playing out on the Nutrient Plaza stage just outside the
grand stands. So lots of entertainment opportunities going on once
they've concluded their show on the Plaza stage, working your
(02:50):
way back into the grand stands. Starting at five PM,
a group out of Chicago, another classic rock group from
the sixties called The Circle will be performing on the
stage in the grand stands.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Ye and if is that the same people that did
Red rubber Ball, Yes, sir, yeah, okay, and they spelled
it see why.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
R K l E. Yes, I recall, yep, you're exactly right.
I wonder if I have that in my I don't.
They're trying to look that up in our system here.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
But that was of course a big hit back in
the day, and they are still obviously active. So they
started five o'clock and then you've got the headliner, I
guess you'd say on August seventeenth, playing after the Circle.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Who is it? Yes, the headliner.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
He'll be taking the stage around six fifteen, six thirty pm.
The headliner for this show is the world renowned name
Mickey Dolans.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Aha from the Monkeys.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
Yes, exactly, so Mickey Dolans comes in about six fifteen
or six thirty.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
So that is awesome.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
And all those shows are also free admission except for
the party pay.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Or whatever you talked about it the stage front section. Yes, okay, yeah, yeah,
So there will be a limited, very limited number of
tickets available for purchase starting Monday, July twenty first, at
nine am. You'll purchase them the same way you've purchased
any of our other concert tickets. But that is a
limited number of tickets in the stage front area. There
(04:17):
will be seats there, but they are general admission. So
if you buy a ticket to that and you want
to be as close to the stage as possible, it's
first come, first serve.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
But we reiterate to be in there to see the
concert is free.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
I want to maybe upgrade your deal a little bit.
You can buy those special tickets. I guess you'd say,
you are exactly right. So that's happening Sunday, August seventeenth
with the Allen County Fair and the car show as
part of that day, So going to be a huge deal. Also,
you guys have been noticed of late because there's a
(04:52):
giant I don't know if you call it a sculpture.
It's a wood sculpture of your mascot for the fair,
which they I guess debuted. I guess it's probably been
ten or fifteen years now, right, the cow mascot for
the fairs called Maurice.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
And there's a giant wooden sculpture I guess is all
I could say about it in front of the fair grounds.
Is it on the three h nine side? It is, yep,
right across from beer barrel. Okay, well how did all
this come about? Because this is the guys that did
this are the same guys that are at the fair
every year, right, that do the chainsaw carvings.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Right, Yes, Bear Hollowood Carvers was the crew that did
this project. They brought in a crew of fourteen carvers
from all across the country to accomplish this project in
basically an eight day window and battling all kinds of
bad weather. So it was impressive itself that they were
able to persevere through all that and get this project done.
But where it all kind of started as I'd met
(05:51):
with Visit Greater Lima Betsy billings Lee over there quite
a few times, and we were trying to brainstorm some
ideas of how we could really drive more tourism to
Lima Allen County and help bring dollars into the community
and the businesses that surround us, but also find a cool,
fun celebratory piece for our one hundred and seventy fifth anniversary.
(06:13):
So that's how we came up with this sculpture project.
We saw what Nelson the Bigfoot over in Mercer County
has done for their fair grounds and their economy, so
we kind of tried to emulate that but put our
own unique twist on it with having our mascot be
the sculpture.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Now, the Sasquatch Bigfoot thing was that the bear hollow
wood carvers or it was it was they did that too, Okay,
So this is basically a conversation piece, a tourism piece,
and it's something that sort of fell in your lap here, right, yes, exactly.
So we're very grateful that Visit Greater Lima stepped up
(06:51):
and they were the funder behind this project to make
it all possible. And I believe that was through some
sort of grant program that they got those dollars in
order to put towards this project to make it all happen.
But there were forever grateful for the support that we've
gotten from them, and then obviously for the carvers. They
(07:12):
are extremely skilled and talented and being able to pull
something like this off is no easy.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Feet that thing is big. I mean, do you know
how tall it is? Yes?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Yeah, So he's just a little over twenty six feet tall.
He's sixteen feet wide, eighteen feet deep, and the shoes
he's wearing are actually size forty and they each weigh
about one thousand pounds, are as much as a grand piano.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Man shack thinks those shoes are big? Right, Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Now, really people can't r M. Can you approach it now?
Or should people not do it? What's are you going
to maybe put up a tent around him or what's
going to happen here?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
Actually, we've already had quite a few people that just
pull off the side of the road or pull into
the main boulevard and go up and take pictures with them,
and we're completely fine and okay with it. We're not
necessarily encouraging people to do that at this point, just
because of the sole fact that there's still some work
to be done. We're going to put in some sidewalks
to make him more accessible and also redo the landscaping
(08:12):
around him. So once we've had his grand reveal and
ribbon cutting before the fair this year, then he'll be
open and available twenty four to seven, gotcha.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
And that is for the one hundred and seventy fifth
anniversary too, for the fair, So yes, that's a big anniversary.
And of course we talked a while back about your
main attraction, the Lauren Daegel concert. Tickets are continuing to
be on sale for that right.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Yes they are, and ticket sales are going very well
for that show. So I encourage folks that if you're
on the fence about going to that show or wanting
to buy tickets, that you do so sooner rather than later,
because the grand stands is actually almost sold out, the
bleachers are almost sold out, and the track tickets are
going fairly quickly, So if you were wanting to sit
(08:56):
in any of those sections as part of our concert vent,
you better get on those quick and you can do
that by going to Allencofair dot com and then it'll
direct you right to Etics, which is our trusted ticketing
provider for all of our events.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Gotcha.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
And to reiterate the announcement today, Direct Energy, the Circle
and Mickey Dolan's performing at the Fair in the grand stand.
That'll be a free concert going on with the car
show as well on Sunday, August seventeenth during the one
hundred and seventy fifth Allen County Fair. Troy El, we're
the fair manager with us in studio. Good stuff, Troy,
appreciate you stopping by. Hey, thanks for having me on, Todd,
(09:32):
I appreciate it.
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