Photo by Jim Tate Wood Lake Community Club Chairman Donna Ricke is shown with several Wood Lake Community Fair scrapbooks and organizational binders. The 84th fair will be held August 18-20.

WOOD LAKE — The Wood Lake Community Fair is 84 years old this year, with the celebration scheduled Monday through Wednesday, August 18-20.

It’s the only town celebration in the area that’s not held on a weekend and there’s a very practical reason for that, according to Donna Ricke, the Community Club chairperson.

“It’s in the route for the carnival,” she said. “It’s nearly impossible to find a carnival and you have to book them out a long ways. This works out for our community, and the carnival, as well.”

Ricke is the chairperson of the 16-member Community Club, which coordinates the Wood Lake Fair. The group first met on September 4, 1934 and it was then called the Commercial Club. Over the years its name was changed to the Community Club as membership consisted less of businesses, and more of individuals.

The first Wood Lake Fair was held on October 5, 1934, and it has enjoyed a long history, with few interruptions. The fair was not held in the war years of 1942-45, in 1946 due to a polio outbreak, and in 2020, due to Covid.

“Attendance at the fair has been very consistent over the years,” said Ricke, a Wood Lake native.

She’s been in the Community Club since 2002 and has viewed the town celebration as a child growing up, and now, as an organizer.

“The town has changed, like every small town. There’s less businesses, but the excitement is the same every year. I have people tell me their kids get excited when they see the carnival trucks pull into town and begin to set up. That hasn’t changed.”

Wood Lake paired with Echo her sophomore year in high school, and since then the school has closed.The majority of Wood Lake students attend Lakeview High School in Cottonwood, or Yellow Medicine East in Granite Falls. “The community has a good relationship with Cottonwood and the school,” she said. “During the parade on Wednesday, the high school cross country, football and volleyball teams and cheerleaders are in the parade. They’re very supportive. And during the fair the Booster Club runs the bingo stand and funds the pedal pull.”

The schedule of events remains fairly consistent from year to year, she said.

One of the hot spots is the hamburger stand each year, where hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and a drink are sold. It’s the Community Club’s major fund-raiser and helps pay for the group’s other activities, such as the Easter egg hunt, Santa Day, pancake breakfast, parade entries “and other events that may come along.”

“The committee members and other volunteers are very committed to the fair and put in a lot of time, Some take vacation days to work the fair, and I’ll be doing the same,” said Ricke, a commercial underwriter for North Star Insurance for 43 years.

The Little Scrapper’s tractor pull on Monday brings a lot of people to town, said Ricke, showing a photo album from last year’s event. “We had participants from all over the area — Wood Lake, Hector, Cottonwood, Marshall, Renville, Belview, Ghent, Hanley Falls. They come from all over, and bring their parents, grandparents and friends. It’s a popular event.”

Another event that brings people to town is the Fireman’s Water Fights on Monday. “Firemen from the region will be competing and it’s a fun event to watch,” she said.

Also on Monday will be Dueling Pianos.

On Tuesday will be a game, “Deal or No Deal,” which debuted last year. It is based on the television game show, with prizes awarded. “We came up with the idea last year and just figured it out. It was popular.”

The exhibit hall in the Community Center will be open each day and features entries like any county fair would — “there’s just no animals,” said Ricke. “Flowers, vegetables, handiwork, canning, baked goods. There’s age divisions for each.”

The carnival will operate from 6-10 p.m. each evening. The dunk tank will be held daily, and Woody’s Bar in town will handle the beer stand. The hamburger stand will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., daily.

An all-age scavenger hunt opens Monday and ends Wednesday. A children’s coloring contest will be held Monday.

On Tuesday, United Methodist and St. Luke’s Lutheran churches will operate the pie and ice cream social.

Other Wednesday events include a kiddie parade, the grand parade, a DJ/karaoke “Living’ Rich Entertainment” and the children’s grand prize drawing.

“We get a lot of help from individuals and groups,” said Ricke. “The (Lakeview) Booster Club, Fire Department and First Responders, United Methodist and St. Lukes and Woody’s.

Ricke and her husband, Robert, have four grown children: Tanya Davis, Albertville; Brandon, Vancouver, Wash.; Alissa Ross, St. Peter; and Brian, Rochester.

Times have changed, but the enthusiasm for the Wood Lake Community Fair remains consistent. “As kids we didn’t have a Valley Fair, and the local fair was a big deal. We went to the Wood Lake Fair, it was an anticipated event. I think kids still feel that way.”