Mississippi Valley Fair kicks off Tuesday

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By Deirdre Cox Baker | Monday, July 31, 2006 1:04 PM CDT | () comments

Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES No, a roving band of pirates isn’t descending on Davenport. Visitors to the Mississippi Valley Fair will do a double take, though, when they see a pool complete with the inflatable ship. Diver Marie Christine Menart spent much of Sunday afternoon preparing the attraction and rewarded herself with a cooling dip.

Temperatures over 95 degrees, a humidity level equally high, sweat beading on the face, dogs panting in the heat — it must be time for the Mississippi Valley Fair.

The popular Davenport extravaganza that last year had an attendence of 282,000 begins Tuesday with another slate of top-notch attractions and enough entertainment on tap to satisfy all visitors. Entries for pretty flowers and impressively big vegetables are coming in as workers put finishing touches on the West Locust Street fairgrounds.

“I consider the Davenport fair to be a regional fair, more like the state fair,” said Carol Klindt, Bettendorf, who will have responsibilities that run until the last day of the fair Aug. 6.

Klindt has attended and entered items in the fair since she was a young girl in the 4-H program. She now supervises both the horticulture/vegetable show, and the 4-H rabbit show.

“Our fair draws people from a long ways off, both for concerts and the shows. There’s a lot on the grounds for people to see,” she said.

The weeklong series of grandstand shows again emphasizes country music, with Brooks and Dunn expected to attract the largest audience Thursday. The Doobie Brothers continue the

tradition of a well-known rock ’n’ roll performance on Friday night.

Up-and-coming acts like Sugarland, Miranda Lambert and Billy Currington are on the docket for the weekend. Sugarland’s debut album, “Twice the Speed of Life,” has sold more than 2 million copies and includes the hits “Baby Girl,” “Something More,” and the current “Down to Mississippi (Up to No Good).”

Lambert’s hit songs are “Kerosene” and the current “New Strings.” Currington debuted on the charts with the Shania Twain duet “Party for Two,” and his song “Why, Why, Why” is currently No. 17 on the Billboard country charts.

“We want a healthy, safe and entertaining fair,” general manager Bob Fox said, noting that last year’s record attendance is a goal that might be hard to beat.

The expected hot weather was also evident last year, Fox pointed out, with high temperatures of 95 and 96 degrees on the first few days before a cool-down occurred in midweek.

“But thousands of Fun Cards have been sold and we know that people are coming. It’s August and it’s Iowa.” Water will be available to all and the Davenport Fire Department rigs up hoses to shower passers-by with a welcome mist.

Safety and security are some of Fox’s biggest concerns but he gets help from the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, Davenport police and private firms. Many will remember the 2005 fair when a developmentally disabled man from Davenport’s Handicapped Development Center fell off a Ferris wheel but was rescued by workers from Evans United Carnival Shows.

Caleb Hill, then 31, slipped under the ride’s restraint bars and out of the grasp of his attendant. The dramatic event was captured live on KWQC-TV6 as the Davenport station was in the midst of its noontime news telecast. Hill was transported to the hospital with minor cuts and bruises.

“Special Needs Day” will again be the first day of the fair. Last year’s incident is considered an accident but this year’s participants will be closely watched, Fox said.

New this year is an Olympic diving act called the “Flying Fools.” “I saw it in Texas and Louisiana and it’s just terrific,” said Fox, describing it as a comedy act.

Amateur cooks will gather the last day of the fair to compete in the Scott County Farm Bureau’s 43rd Cook-Out Contest. Kim Dahms of Dixon, Iowa, coordinates the event that she discovered years ago at the fair. “We were walking around and I stumbled across the contest one Sunday,” she said. “I’ve always loved to cook and I started to enter it.”

A successful slate of Scott County entries led Dahms to the Iowa State Fair, where she won the overall contest in 1998. She now helps promote the Davenport event for men and women who like to grill meat and poultry items.

Interested persons are invited to join the fun, she said. Judging is at 2 p.m. Sunday and the cooks will give out individual samples following.

“The Davenport fair is bigger than many state fairs,” Dahms said. “There’s just so much going on, and with the Fun Cards, there is great entertainment that really brings the people out.”

Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com.