btw, we do enjoy a beer now and then, but never do we need it.

mark_twain ? ? really.. we are stepping on your god given right to get drunk at a youth fair? millions of square miles are outside of those fair grounds, but you HAVE to drink there?

Beer solves all our problems, good lesson for the kids ! !

Unidentified and Chuck, Amen.

Unidentified has said it all. I could not agree more. I go to at least 7 county fairs each year between Wi. and Il. and Walworth is my favorite. The Wi. state fair would be #1 if it would get rid of the drunks.

spikesmom: I love how people who can't seem to have a good time without alcohol assume that people who can have a "Greater than thou" attitude. What we have is one of the few decent family fairs that has managed to stay clear of beer. There is more than enough bars in town if you want to drink. I love beer as much as anyone, but I can live without it to go to a county fair and have a good time with friends and family. This state is obsessed with drinking. Drinking at church, drinking at bars, drinking at home, drinking at fairs, drinking at hockey games. Meanwhile they do little or nothing to curb DWI's and there are alcoholics everywhere. Again, a beer now and then is great, but is shouldn't be the focal point every activity.

Zippy_TPH - Good One!

oops 83 year old father

I have lived in Walworth County all my life & gone to the fair there every year since a little girl. My 83 father will tell you that the reason the Walworth County fair doesn't (& has never) served beer is because the person who willed the land to the fair board did so with the contingency that alcohol never be sold on the fairgrounds. In recent years though, the fair board has purchased land that connects to but is not part of the original fairgrounds, I am wondering maybe they are thinking of putting the beer tent there?

One commonly circulated legend has that the reason no alcohol has ever been served at the fair is due to the downtown Elkhorn bars' influence. Those bars which are several blocks away would lose seven days of revenue.

Now having said that, I think a beer tent would help to offset fair related expenses. Raising entrance and parking fees tends to be counterproductive. Get the people in for a low price, then they will spend their money while inside the fairgrounds.

lovemygoldens...I would agree with your point about Summerfest. The difference between Summerfest and a county fair is that Summerfest is more about "beer and bands" than anything else. A county fair is more about kids and other types of activities. It's two completely different atmospheres.

zippy: what about those from walworth county who lack teeth for the sieve?? ;)

I grew up in Walworth, currently still live in Walworth County. I have gone to the fair since I can remember (I'm 44). I don't recall them ever selling beer - per Hannah's blog. I have mixed feelings on them doing it now. I agree to keep it out, keep it family oriented but unfortunately, beer might bring in more revenue. I see some churches do that at some of their functions and I find that odd. Alcohol sells, I guess. I also thought it was in the records that alcohol was never to be sold on those grounds.

beentheredonethat: maybe you're right. I guess I'm thinking more of Summerfest than county fairs. I don't think I've ever been to Summerfest and not had beer spilled on me and that's really annoying to me.

Don't forget the toothpicks, those flies get stuck quite good...

Walworth just needs to wait, the Rock county fair will not survive much longer. I am not sure who is on the fair board or how they got there but they all need to be replaced. I would ask to be on the board, but I enjoy going to the Walworth fair to much.

A good alcoholic brings his stuff with him, and never drinks flat, overpriced tent beer if possible. Of course, a good alcoholic will combine other people's discarded beers to make a full beer, and drink it warm and flat if necessary. You can sieve out the flies with your teeth.

I go to a lot of county fairs during the summer to see good entertainment. Every one of those fairs has a beer tent. By the way, I don't drink beer. I've stopped going to the Rock Co. fair because they don't have good entertainment. The fairs that serve beer can afford better and more diverse entertainment. Walworth Co. generally does a good job with booking good acts so maybe a beer tent won't help out with that. I have NEVER seen any problems associated with beer being sold at county fairs. People need to get over their "greater than Thou" attitudes when it comes to serving beer at public events. The people that are going to these fairs and having a beer or two generally are NOT there with their kids. Believe it or not, adult people do still actually go out on dates. There is some really amazing, and current, entertainment going on at other area fairs that people would normally have to pay $40 and up for tickets at a stadium, where beer is sold, by the way. You can still see these these same people at a county fair for just the price to get in the gate, usually under $10. If some of you people would actually leave Janesville and the hold our "fair" has on you, you would see how a fair could be run. Beer tents and FREE on-site parking. It's what everyone else offers. We need to start thinking a little differently. I go out of town to other fairs, taking my money to be spent out of town. How many people from out of town(not Beloit or Milton) but from 50 or 100 miles, actually come to Janesville for this fair? I'm sure not many. I recently went to the West Bend fair to see David Cook and people from IL and MN were there and came there JUST to see Cook. Kenny Wayne Shepherd in Jefferson had people from Iowa.

My thinking was the same as tickle_32's, no alcohol on the fair grounds. I think it's great that alcohol has been kept out of the fair. Why can't people go one day without drinking in this state. Makes me sick.

getting a few beers in me might making working at that fair bearable. It seems that everytime I'm at that fair, i always end up playing the game, "Who's kids are gonna rob me in 10 years"

Don't forget about Rock Around the Block downtown Janesville on August 30th. Lots of stuff for the kids to do, and yes, they do have beer. 30 bands on 9 stages, too.

If a parent,(and i use that term lightly)the one's that drink anyway. Can't take ONE DAY,or the week to go on the wagon,to teach their children that you can have fun & have a healthy time with the family,without drinking,would be a good lesson taught ! Don't you teachers of your children think so? The bars will not fold up,for you to give this time to your kids.

BAD idea. Adding a beer tent will cause more trouble than it's worth. Keep it a family friendly event.

lovemygoldens...we go to other county fairs every year that sell beer. We drink the beer. We have a good time. Never once have I spilled beer on someone, or had beer spilled on me. And "drunk people getting rowdy" hasn't really been a problem.

Those are the contingencies for the ROCK County fairgrounds. I don't think the Walworth County Fair is in the same situation.

I hope they don't add the beer tent. It's one of the few places left that you can walk and have a good time without getting beer spilled on you or listening to drunk people get rowdy!

I was with the understanding that the land where the fair is held was donated for the purposes of the fair but the one restriction is that beer is not to be served on the grounds or Walworth County looses the land. Anyone know anything about that?