The Washington County Fair doesn’t kick off until July 26 but progress is being made on the new Silver Lining amphitheater.
The new 50 x 100-foot stage, financed in partnership with West Bend Mutual Insurance, is part of a plan to upgrade the facilities at Washington County Fair Park and attract new talent to the venue.
“This isn’t Summerfest but it’s our little piece of Summerfest,” Joshua Schoemann, Washington County administrator, said.
Some tidbits about the new stage:
-“Our admissions are remaining the same,” said Sandy Lang, executive director of Washington Co. Fair Park and Conference Center. There will be no additional charges to see a performance from the grassy hill at the Silver Lining Amphitheater during the fair.
-“This is permanent and it will be attractive to other venues coming in,” said Lang. “It’s a win, win all around.”
-“And the taxes won’t go up for people in the community so they win twice,” said Schoemann.
-“I never thought this would happen for the Washington County Fair Grounds,” Lang said. “In the long run this will help draw more than the six days of the county fair.”
-“We chose a gift to Washington County because this is a place we’ve considered home. This has been our home the last 120 years and the community has been very supportive of us and that’s why we wanted to give this gift back to this community,” said Chris Zwygart, vice president-chief risk officer at West Bend Mutual
-“We wanted to hit the sweet spot with some of the design elements that Summerfest may have but we also have the at-home feel that a smaller community would have,” said Zwygart.
-“The idea of having more acts, smaller acts is definitely a possibility,” said Zwygart.
-“Thank you, thank you, thank you to West Bend Mutual Insurance Company,” County Board Chairman Herb Tennies said. “This will help make the Washington County Fair Park one of the best in Wisconsin.”
-The first act to baptize the stage will be country singer Hunter Hayes on July 28.
