UPDATE: September 11 Kansas State Fair Announces Parking Lot Closures and Shuttle Service Following Heavy Rainfall
PARKING UPDATE
Due to current conditions, the Kansas State Fair parking lots will remain closed on Thursday, September 11, with the exception of handicapped parking near Gates 5 and 9 on State Fair Road.
Thursday, September 11 Shuttle Service:
Shuttles will begin at 7:30 a.m. from the following locations:
Stringer Fine Arts Center and Hutchinson Sports Arena (700 E. 11th Street – west side only)
Available for parking from 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM. Last bus will leave the Kansas State Fairgrounds at 10 PM.
Bold 3PL – East parking lot at 1529 E. 17th Avenue
Available for parking from 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM. Last bus will leave the Kansas State Fairgrounds at 10 PM.
Hutchinson Uptown Mall – Southwest corner, south of Hutchinson Vintage Market
Available for parking from 7:30 AM to Midnight. Last bus will leave the Kansas State Fairgrounds at 11:30 PM.
Shuttles will run approximately every 15 minutes. All shuttles will drop off and pick up at Gate 9 on Plum Street. Please allow extra time for travel and note that wait times may be longer with extended routes.
Additional Information:
Handicapped Parking: Available near Gate 5 and Gate 9 on State Fair Road (placard required)
Will Call: Open at Lot C on Plum Street
Livestock Exhibitors: All livestock exhibitors with purchased Purple & Tan Lot parking will still have access
Group/Family Drop-off: Guests may drop off family and friends at Gate 1, then proceed to park at alternate lots
Schedule UPDATEs
All events scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 11 will take place as planned. Here are a few highlights to note:
Goat Yoga will take place at 7 AM as scheduled.
Participants are encouraged to find walkable street parking as the shuttles will not be running yet.
Veterans Breakfast will begin at 9 AM as scheduled.
If you have a ticket to this event, please see parking instructions above for options
Hairball will continue as scheduled at 7:30 PM at the Nex-Tech Grandstand
Tickets still available: etix.com/ticket/v/12251/kansas-state-fair
The Kansas State Fair continues through Sunday, September 14. For continual updates as conditions change, visit www.kansasstatefair.com or follow Kansas State Fair social media pages.
Lettuce Eat Local: To Be Fair, The Fair Is Memorable
Amanda Miller
Columnist
Lettuce Eat Local
I’m sure it took many days to clean up just the basics of the 2024 Kansas State Fair, with clusters of workers busy in every building and over the entire grounds — tearing down booths, packing up products, trailering away livestock. I’m sure it took many more weeks after that for most traces of the fair to disappear, although they never quite all do; but eventually, the year’s signs are down, the trash is picked up, the ruts in the parking lot are even almost worn in.
But I know for a fact that it took many months for the state fair’s enchantment to wear off of our son.
The couple times we went apparently marked Benson indelibly, and it was almost beyond his comprehension level to understand that something so massive, so marvelous, could just up and go away, never to return until a year later. The fair coming back featured in his bedtime prayers sometimes, and it was wintertime before he finally let up on asking if it was time to go again.
He doesn’t always enjoy places with large crowds, which this clearly was, but there was enough going on at the fair to make it more than worthwhile. I wouldn’t think a farm boy who is around tractors and skidsteers every day would be so giddy about looking at and clambering into more — well I wouldn’t have originally, but then I guess I did marry one so I shouldn’t have been surprised.
I’d like to say peering at the rows of intriguing poultry and rabbits was what Benson loved so much, or maybe seeing our cows at the birthing barn. He was almost euphoric when the petting zoo goats nibbled out of his palm, probably could have stayed for hours in AgriLand if I let him play with the cotton seeds and corn kernels the “energetic” way he preferred, and basically stole the show helping me give a cottage cheese ice cream demo for the Kansas Dairy Association.
But speaking of ice cream, fair food may be the major reason Benson was so enthusiastic about that week last September. I only got him ice cream once, or twice, but so did his grandparents when they took him, and his aunt when she took him, etc. As evidenced by the crowds swarming around the booths, he obviously isn’t the only one who finds fair food something worth raving about. Some people are planning their eating routes long before the aroma of funnel cakes and fried curds starts wafting through the air, and my sister-in-law even got a Pronto Pup painted on her fingernails.
So I don’t know what all was going through his little head on Friday, but when I told him his aunt was going to take him to the fair that evening, his reaction was exactly as I had expected: an immediate sharp burst of anticipatory screaming. I waited until Kiah woke up from her nap on purpose to share the news, and I also couldn’t tell him too early in the day or there would have been talk of nothing else.
So we’ll see how this week of the fair goes, and how many weeks we’ll be hearing about it afterwards. Ice cream, cotton candy, and turkey legs, here we come.
Basic-Brined Chicken Drumsticks
While I’m not a big fair food connoisseur, there is really something about those turkey legs. Hot, smoky, sticky, greasy, meaty. Benson and his cousins had a communal turkey leg on that first night, which I think was a great way to kick off his fair experience — although he’s telling me now that they had ice cream first, then monster cotton candy, and then turkey. All’s fair in love and the fair I suppose. At any rate, I’m not even going to try to replicate those at home, but little chicken legs are good for some hot, greasy, meaty eating too.
Prep tips: if you eat these outside, while walking around, you can get even more fair vibes.
2 quarts water
½ cup salt
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 onion, quartered
2-3 pounds chicken drumsticks
pepper and smoked paprika
Mix water, salt, sugar, and lemon juice in a large glass or metal bowl, then add in onion and chicken — if not submerged, add more water. Brine for 8-10 hours in the fridge, then remove and pat dry; sprinkle with pepper and smoked paprika. Roast in the oven at 400° or throw on the grill, until meat reaches 175°.
Celebrating Kevin’s 20th Birthday
Twenty years ago, on September 2nd our youngest child was born. To celebrate, our whole family came for an outdoor supper. We are a total of 31 now. Son-in-law Dustin broasted chicken and made french fries in his double-basket deep fryer. We set up tables in the yard by our walk out basement and ate out there. We had a campfire going which felt really good when the sun went down. The children enjoyed gathering sticks and anything they could so they could throw them in the fire. We caught a few using extra napkins just so they could throw it in the fire and watch it burn. Haha! Most of them stayed here for the night except Daniel Ray and Verena, who left after supper to go to his parents for the night. They had plans to gather at Daniel Ray’s uncle and aunt on Monday. Joseph and Grace stayed later but then left for home. Of course, Dustin’s and Daniel and Lovina are just across the road so they could go home to their own beds. Denzel and Byron stayed here for the night and slept with Joe and I. Denzel wanted to sleep beside Grandpa. Byron was always moving around so I moved to the recliner and he slept much better when he had my space too. Haha! I’m having pain in my left shoulder and lower back so the recliner actually feels better after a while. I have an appointment Friday and hopefully I can get relief then. I baked a cake for Kevin and it must’ve tasted better than it looked because it was all ate up. I tried my skills at decorating which I’m not good at.
Sitting around the campfire singing and visiting was so enjoyable. Son Benjamin kept the older children entertained by having a game going with seeing who could pound a nail in the wood the fastest. He started each of their nails then they took turns hitting their nails. I’m not exactly sure how they played it, but they were having fun. Son Kevin can be a comic and his older nephews sat beside him laughing at his jokes. They giggled when Kevin told them they better behave or he’s walking away from there. Kevin can’t walk or stand with his disability and they know that and figured out it was one of the jokes he makes about himself.
We have plenty of empty beds upstairs so there was plenty of room for everyone. It would’ve been too cold to sleep in tents. The church was in a tent Sunday morning and it was cold until the sun warmed it up. Usually August 31st would be warmer but that was the last service that will be held under a tent for this year. Monday morning we decided to make breakfast inside since it was 44 degrees outside. We had a breakfast casserole, toast, butter, strawberry jam, cheese, hot peppers, cookies, pumpkin bars, watermelon, milk, coffee and rhubarb juice. We enjoyed holding sweet little Sharlene and Brooklyn.
Last week my sister Verena was here and helped me can salsa and vegetable juice. I also made peach pie filling. I want to can more peach pie filling after I do laundry today.
On a sadder note we had a call from Joe’s sister Esther to let us know Joe’s 57-year-old cousin Susan Hostetler from Fredericksburg, Ohio passed away unexpectedly on Thursday. We are so sorry we were unable to make the trip to the funeral. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences go to the mourning family left behind. She left to mourn her husband Adonia, nine children and twenty-six grandchildren. All but the three youngest sons are married. The sons all have a special friend. Her youngest is the same age as Kevin. Susan’s dad Jake and Joe’s dad Clarence were brothers. Jake passed away in 2023 and Clarence in 2008. May God help them through this difficult time. Parting is never easy and so much more when it’s unexpected. Susan is a year older than Joe. At our age we always think we still have time but we are not promised tomorrow. Our goal is to be ready to meet our maker when our time comes.
God be with you all!
HOME FRUIT PIE FILLING
6 cups granulated sugar
2 ¼ cups instant Clear Jel
7 cups cold water
½ cup lemon juice, fresh or bottled
6 quarts fresh fruit, such as cherries (pitted), blueberries, raspberries, or peaches (peeled, pitted and sliced)
In a large stock pot, combine the sugar and instant Clear Jel over medium-high heat. Add the water and stir well. Cook on medium-high until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 7 minutes. Add the lemon juice and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Fold in the fruit, then remove from the heat. If not used immediately, divide the cooled pie filling into quart-sized resealable plastic bags and freeze for up to 4 to 6 months or process and seal in a canner for 20 minutes according to canning jar and lid manufacturer’s instructions.
Lovina’s Amish Kitchen is written by Lovina Eicher, Old Order Amish writer, cook, wife, and mother of eight. Her three cookbooks, The Cherished Table, The Essential Amish Cookbook, and Amish Family Recipes, are available wherever books are sold. Readers can write to Eicher at Lovina’s Amish Kitchen, PO Box 234, Sturgis, MI 49091 (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply); or email [email protected] and your message will be passed on to her to read. She does not personally respond to emails.
Poker Run to benefit Reno County Veterans’ Memorial
Motorcyclists and community members alike will hit the road Saturday, Sept. 13, for a poker run benefitting the Reno County Veterans Memorial.
The ride begins at Salty Cycles, 129 East Sherman, with registration opening at 9:30 a.m. and kickstands up at 10:30 a.m. Riders will make a clockwise loop through the region, stopping at Shep Chevrolet in Haven, Bob’s Bikes in Sterling, Shane Love Insurance in Arlington, and the Reno County Veteran’s Memorial before concluding at Bretz Injury Law Office in Hutchinson.
The cost is $25 per hand or $50 for three hands, with all proceeds going directly to the Veterans Memorial’s upkeep and programming. The final stop will feature a free lunch, raffles, and door prizes.
“This community has really blessed us, and it’s an honor to give back through events like this,” said attorney Matt Bretz, who is helping sponsor the event. “The Veterans Memorial is something truly special here in Reno County, but it’s expensive to maintain. Every dollar raised helps ensure it remains a place of honor and reflection.”
Organizers expect more than 150 motorcycles to participate this year, continuing a tradition of biker-led fundraisers in Reno County.
Bretz tells us, “Motorcyclists really show up for things, whether it’s for kids that are victims of sexual abuse or violence. They show up at the courthouse to provide some protection and comfort and security, or whether it’s fundraisers, whether it’s the toy run, whether it’s Cancer Council, Veterans Memorial, motorcyclists show up, and I so appreciate that.”
Participants don’t need a motorcycle to take part. Classic cars, autocycle riders, and community members who simply want to donate are welcome.
The Veterans Memorial, located off K-96, has become a landmark for locals and visitors alike. Organizers encourage families with loved ones who served to contact the memorial committee about recognition opportunities.
The Sept. 13 run comes ahead of other motorcycle charity rides this fall, including a rescheduled benefit for the Cancer Council of Reno County and upcoming toy runs in December.
