NDSF Receives 15 International Awards

The North Dakota State Fair was awarded a total of fifteen first place International Awards in categories including competitive exhibits, agriculture and communications from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE) headquartered in Springfield, MO. The Fair was also honored with the title of Best of Show in Communications.

The Communication Awards category is in place to improve the advertising and publicity programs of fairs.

The North Dakota State Fair teams up with the advertising agency, KKBOLD, to develop and plan their strategy. Best of Show was awarded to the NDSF team for scoring the highest total of the combined individual categories in the communication division. The following first place awards were also received: Black and White Newspaper Ad, Color Newspaper Ad, Magazine Ad, Poster, Point of Purchase Display, Single Brochure, and Radio Ads. “We strive to utilize the newest marketing tactics for reaching Fairgoers and we are honored to be recognized for being the best in each of these categories,” said Jennifer Hubrig, Marketing Director.

The purpose and goal of the IAFE Competitive Exhibits Category is to encourage fair members to share methods, ideas, props, new or unique classes, and fair themes which enhance or expand the competitive exhibits area. These exhibits include items entered in competition at the Fair and then are displayed or presented during the Fair.

First place awards received in the Competitive Exhibits Category include: Competitive Exhibit Display Method, New or Unique Division and Competitive Exhibit Photo Series.

The purpose of the IAFE Agricultural Awards is to improve the agricultural educational programs of fairs, to help fairs determine ways they might be of service to their exhibitors, the fairgoing public, and agriculture businesses.

The following first place agricultural awards were received: Overall Program for Competitive Exhibitors, Overall Agricultural Program for the Non-Agricultural Fairgoing Public, Overall Program for Agricultural Vendors, and Video of a Special or Unique Event for Either Exhibitors or the Fairgoing Public. “We are very excited to be recognized for the emphasis and focus that we place on agriculture. We work hard every year to keep agriculture at the heart of the Fair,” said Manager, Renae Korslien.

The awards were presented during the 122^nd annual IAFE Convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are a total of 14 Agriculture categories, 11 Competitive Exhibit categories and 23 Communication categories, each divided into five divisions based on attendance. The entries are evaluated and judged by a team of industry leaders, selected from the membership of the IAFE.

For more information on the North Dakota State Fair visit www.ndstatefair.com or call 701-857-7620. Dates for the 2013 North Dakota State Fair are July 19-27.