Carver County Fairgrounds — Local services in Waconia

I am an aerial photographer hobbyist and after dropping off my 3 year old at eating therapy on this fine summer day, I set out to capture some wondrous pictures of a beautiful Waconia water tower with the city in the background, as well as the amazing facilities at the Carver County fairgrounds. I began capturing some gripping shots of the water tower... Shortly thereafter, Kenneth E. Norman and his friend drove up abruptly behind me. Kenneth jumped out of his car and started harassing me. I showed him my controller screen and relayed to him that I was just taking some photos of the beautiful water tower. He seemed upset and was very confrontational. He then told me that he was from across the street at 500 W 3rd St and he was on the Carver County Fair Board. He grumped that the fairgrounds were private property and that I could not be here. I calmly informed him that I was standing on a public sidewalk on a public street and the airspace high above is not owned by anybody and is not a property. I don't think he appreciated that I know my FAA guidelines. As a responsible drone operator, I became acquainted with the rules before purchasing my craft. At this, he stalked back to his vehicle and grabbed his phone, came back over to me and started taking pictures of me, my car, and my license plate. When this happened, I began to wonder if Kenneth was meaning to make further issue, or threaten me in some manner. I picked up my phone and returned in kind, that I may have some record of what was going on here. He said, "I'm taking pictures, just in case." to which I told him, "Me as well." Then I wondered... Just in case of what? Living in Waconia for years now, I have never felt so unwelcome, threatened, or harassed by another member of my fair city. People enjoy my photography, and I usually upload my pics free-of-charge to the community groups and also Google Maps, so others can enjoy the awesome aerial views of landmarks, when they look up a location on the map. As for Kenneth and Company, this is not the welcome wagon or community experience I would expect from the...

We had a very difficult experience working with this disorganized group. We were repeat vendors for the Carver County Fair and contacted them in March to renew our contract. We were given confirmation that we could come as vendors by both phone and email. We were also given our new contract for the year. After this was finalized, we reached out to The Carver County Fair again in May to re-confirm a few details and no matter how hard we tried, we could not get ahold of anyone from this organization. We figured that they were just extremely busy and disorganized. After all, we had the go-ahead to come, what could go wrong? One month before the event we reached out to them one last time and finally got a reply. We were told that our information had been lost due to certain people who no longer worked for their fair. They had miscommunicated and would no longer have space for us. Not once did they even try to contact us to let us know that they had changed their plans. They didn't reply to any of our multiple emails or return any of our phone messages. They completely ignored us and lead us to believe that we purchased vendor space for their event. If you have a contract with the Carver County Fair, it honestly means nothing. They are completely capable of going back on their word and screwing their vendors over at the very last minute. It's truly frustrating that the Carver County Fair association feels that it is acceptable to take advantage of small businesses who are simply trying to participate in...

I really appreciate that they have a nice handicap patio for the grandstand. My concern is - there are two permanent benches on the patio, they are made with the same aluminum as the rest of the patio and for people with visual issues they disappear. My father-in-law ran into the bench with his wheelchair and ramed his leg causing a small divot and pain. I would prefer if the edges of the benches were identified with reflective red and white tape or paint. Maybe even apply the same thing to the legs of the benches.

There should be a handicap restroom in the line of porta potties near the bottom of the handicap patio ramp.

We had a great time with the demolition derby and we are looking forward to coming again next year. My father-in-law enjoyed listening to the music in one of the buildings (didn't get which one), it was old Country Western .

My wife wone a bunch of blue ribbons for her jams and jellies. She is looking forward to entering again next year. I am looking forward to eating the jams and jellies 😋

Last item - the cords and hoses all over the fairgrounds need better ramps over them for...