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HARTINGTON — The Cedar County Fair is still six months away, but planning is already in full swing as organizers work to improve accessibility, modernize the fairgrounds and line up entertainment for Cedarstock Music Fest.
Cedar County Fair Board President Greg Heine said the annual fair’s success comes from continuous infrastructure improvements, booking music well in advance and working with other festivals and county fairs to manage rising costs and strengthen the overall lineup.
A major ongoing focus has been improving accessibility at the fairgrounds, Heine said.
Recent and planned projects include ADA-compliant seating and additional sidewalks to improve access across the grounds.
“Last year, with a grant through T-Mobile, we put some ADA bleachers in our grandstand areas, and we’re also going to be putting more sidewalks in this year,” Heine said. “We did get a grant from the Gilchrist Foundation out of Sioux City, so they’re going to help us pay for some sidewalks and stuff like that, too.”
Heine said the rodeo committee has also been fundraising to add more ADA-compliant seating.
Some improvements are visible right away. Others are less noticeable but still key to the fair’s operations. Heine pointed to last year’s installation of fiber-optic internet, which he said is needed for selling and scanning tickets.
“Getting fiber optic was a big jump for us,” Heine said. “It’s not something you really see because it’s all underground, but it was a big deal for us to get that done.”
Camping space at the fairgrounds has also expanded dramatically since Heine joined the board.
“When I first started on the fair board in 2009, we had about 10 camping spots,” Heine said. “Now we have over 50 camping spots down there at the fairgrounds, and we’re looking at trying to maybe add some more as well.”
Heine said those upgrades are part of a broader investment in the fair’s facilities over the past decade.
“We’ve added nice bathrooms, a better livestock facility, a lot of camper spots, more parking access, and just a lot of infrastructure things,” he said. “We’ve invested over $1 million worth of projects in the past 10 years, and we’ve done that with very little debt. We’re very proud of how far we’ve come and hope to keep it going.”
Along with facility improvements, Heine said early planning for Cedarstock Music Fest has become another key piece of keeping the fair strong. Heine said booking for this year’s Cedarstock began in March 2025, the earliest start the fair has ever had.
While Cedarstock has built a strong reputation among artists, Heine said the booking process has become more difficult as performance costs have climbed.
The fair has worked to manage those challenges by coordinating with other festivals and fairs.
“I work with different festivals out of Wisconsin and North Dakota, and we kind of book together a little bit,” Heine said. “I even work a little bit with the Cheyenne Frontier Days, and we work together on booking bands.”
Heine said cooperation is common among fairs, especially when schedules and budgets are tight.
“A lot of us fairs don’t try to compete against each other,” Heine said. “We’re actually really good friends, and we all work together and sometimes help each other out.”
Heine said feedback from performers has helped Cedarstock continue to grow, with artists often praising the crowd and the organization behind the show.
“The bands that come to our fair say we’re a fun crowd, great to work with, and put on a good show,” he said.
Heine said country artist Justin Moore, who performed at the 2024 Cedarstock Music Fest, commented on the combination of the national anthem and fireworks before the concert — a detail Heine said stood out to the artist and helps build Cedarstock’s reputation among performers.
Heine said this year’s Friday night Cedarstock headliner will be announced March 11. He said a contract provision limits overlapping advertising while the artist performs within a 90-mile radius ahead of the fair.
Heine said local beer garden bands will be announced sometime in the spring.
