GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Summer weather could jeopardize the events that have brought thousands to northeast Wisconsin.
Outagamie County Fair Manager Brian Stille said he’s ready for any weather.
“Weather is always an unknown, and we expect that and we prepare for it,” he said.
EAA Airventure 2022 begins on Monday. Director of Communications Dick Knapinski said unpredictable weather means officials need to be prepared. But he warns against overreacting.
“Not speaking to anything specifically, we’re talking 48 hours in advance, and we all know those type of systems can change, even with the slightest provocation, even within an hour of when a prediction comes,” he said.
Last year EAA cancelled most operations and bussed people to the museum on a night with inclement weather. Knapinski said the event will shut down early if required, but officials make every effort to wait out severe weather.
“It may delay an airshow for an hour,” he said. “It may delay something for a little bit longer. If it’s very severe weather certainly we’ll take a look at it as we did in 2021.”
Many events have evacuation plans in place.
“There’s places in town to go to,” Stille said. “Our PA system is up across the grounds to make sure everybody gets notified.”
There’s a similar evacuation plan at the Pulaski Polka Days Music Festival. Pulaski Fire Chief James Styczynski is involved. He said organizers are prepared, regardless of the forecast. This year the festival will use Glenbrook Elementary School as an emergency shelter.
Wisconsin Public Service has been preparing for the possibility of storms impacting the area. Spokesperson Matt Cullen said people should follow specific advice when attending a large gathering.
“Certainly we would encourage them to follow safety protocols that the venues themselves have established as well as safety protocols when it comes to severe weather in general,” he said.
Cullen says WPS uses large events like the ones this weekend to make sure everything is running reliably at those venues.
An average of 30,000 people attend the Outagamie County fair each year.
Last year’s EAA Airventure brought in an estimated 608,000
