Facing the heat for the Waukesha County Fair
Workers battle high temps to set up by Wednesday
WAUKESHA - Most of us retreat to the pool, the lake or an air conditioned cool spot when it gets this hot out. But since summer in Wisconsin means festivals and fairs, many have to battle the heat to keep our summer staple going strong.
Cindy Haeffel and her husband run JC's Dough Jo on the Waukesha County fairgrounds, they were setting up their tent today instead of finding a place to cool off they told TODAY'S TMJ4's Jesse Ritka. "I'd be in the house in my air conditioning if I could help it, you know what I mean, but today we have to set-up for Wednesday," Haeffel explains.
And setting up in this heat is sending workers and vendors here at the Waukesha county fairgrounds through their own fry factory. "It's really, really hot," Cindy says as she reaches for her Gatorade.
From putting up tents, to constructing the concert stage, preparations must be complete before the Fair opens Wednesday.
So workers like Eli Peterson of Concert Staging Inc. are trying to stay ahead of the conveyor belt forecast of sun, heat and humidity. "Get it done as quickly as possible before the mid-afternoon sun hits, so we started at about 7am this morning before the sun got up and hopefully we'll be done before really it gets too hot out," Peterson says.
Even a well-oiled machine like the fair crew needs a break, making the water cooler the hottest spot of the day.
Peterson says their crew goes through a lot of water, "It's very difficult in the hot weather, you get a lot of people drinking water and pouring it all over their heads just making sure we get through the day properly."
Workers are just wary the weather will keep fair goers away from seeing and tasting the products of their labor. "Hopefully everyone will come out to Waukesha County Fair and hopefully have a good time, even if it's a little cooler and later, hopefully they'll show up," Haeffel says with anticipation.
Last year the Waukesha County Fair began on the hottest day of 2011. People setting up today are just thankful the forecast won't be as hot this year.
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