Cindy Hoye is the executive director for the Indiana State Fair. The Indiana State Fair is one of the five largest state fairs in the midwest along with the State Fairs of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsins and Ohio. Cindy and I talk about the leadership challenges of navigating a pandemic and the decision to move forward with their 2021 fair.

Jamie Jones is the fair manager for the Grady County Fair in Oklahoma. The event is by far the smallest fair we’ve had represented on the podcast. Make no mistake when it comes to the size of an event - our fairs play big time roles in their communities.

Pamela Rosaire’s company, Rosaire’s Royal Racers entertains and delights audiences across America. But 2020 put a stop to that. Today we talk about pandemic life and the challenge of navigating 2021.

Jake Sperley is the CEO of Fair & Event. One of their new products is a booth management system for event planners. The roll out hit a major roadblock as Covid disrupted events nationwide. Here’s the impressive thing - Fair & Event actually expanded and added employees during the pandemic. We talk about how that happened on today’s episode.

Daryle Lupretta is the Food & Beverage Manager for the Santa Clara County Fair. The fair is located in San Jose, California where continued government restrictions have been crippling to the events industry. Can the Santa Clara County Fair survive a protracted shutdown and what impact does the pandemic have on food vendors? All that and more.

Dominic Palmieri is the owner of Odyssey Foods & known as “The Midway Gourmet” for Ray Cammack Shows. When 2020 became the challenge of a lifetime, Palmieri made adjustment to start a new sanitizing company. We talk about that as well as food costs and the challenges concessionaires may face moving through the pandemic.

Tim & Robin Balster join us today from just outside Chicago where they are the husband and wife duo of Balster Magic. We talk entertainment, their new trivia game show and life during the pandemic.

Today we welcome Collin, Adrienne and Benny Rolf. Together the sibling trio make up, Renata the Banda. They took time out of their fair performance schedule (YES! They were actually at a fair when we spoke!) to come on the show and share their pandemic experience and talk about how great it felt to be back on stage performing at the Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair.

Interim CEO Walter Marquez has his hands full at the Los Angeles County Fair. As the grounds has been forced to cancel back-to-back fairs now, he’s tasked with navigating the fair in Pomona, CA through tumultuous waters. He’s joined by Don DeLano the Farm Manager (and resident historian) of the LACF.

Steve Trash is a performer who talks the talk and walks the walk when it comes to conservation. He is without question one of the most polished and professional acts in the industry. He joins us from his home in Alabama to talk about conservation, the pandemic and the future of fairs.