The Fexpo Blog

Improvements

2009-09-10T16:31:48Z

I was thinking yesterday, something that I really need to get in the habit of doing more often, about changes I would like to make in my life. There were many of the usual suspects; lose weight, eat better, get my blood sugars more under control, finish projects around the house, make a bigger effort to see my wife’s point of view. The list could go on for pages. I realized that every item on the list should make my life that much better in the long run, but could add quite a bit of stress in the short run. You know how it is, I’m hungry and get more cranky. The more cranky I am, the more I take it out on my wife and those around me. The more I do that, the less able I am to see her point of view.

It seems as though each change I make for the better in one area of my life leads to stress and other trouble in another area. That got me thinking some more about how this is true at work as well as in my personal life. We all know how downsizing, new management or ownership, or new rules can make every one in the workplace nervous and antsy. Smaller changes that alter the daily routine can have the same, though often more subtle, effect. We are renovating some rest rooms, actually putting in new modern facillities, and it is amazing the side effeects that this is causing.

The constructin throws off the usual timing for getting ready for a show and adds stress to the buildings and grounds crew. Some of the smaller events during the week cannot go on with the noise and dirt of construction, so the builders have to delay their work. We have to figure out where everything that used to be in the renovated rooms will now be stored. Room has to be made for the shows that used to use those rooms to get another space. Again, the list could go on for pages. Just like at home, the change causes friction between the various people who are effected.

I guess, in a way, the lesson is similar to the moral of many of the movies about going through boot camp. Change is difficult, but if you work hard and keep at it, in the end things will be better than before you started. It is hard to realize or remember as you or I are going through the change and perhaps that is what causes much of the stress. i guess I’ll have to think about that some more!

Time for Change

2009-08-31T19:20:25Z

It’s that time of year again. It’s almost fall when everything seems to be in a state of change. Families are preparing for kids returning to school, the weather is cooling down, the colors in nature are turning to oranges, reds and yellows, and the Fexpo center is gearing up for another busy season. The Monroe county Fair is our one big summer time event and that is “long past” and we are already planning for next July. Our other business, the Expo side of the FEXPO (Fair and EXPO center) is heading into the busy season.
One change we have been working on, besides the physical upgrades, such as new handicapped restrooms, is the inclusion of more self-promoted shows. We already have our World’s Greatest Garage Sales (WGGS), which bring many people in the community together for fun and fund raising. This year we are starting a couple of new events. The first is Treatfest, scheduled for October 30 and 31. Billed as a Halloween Party for the Whole Family, Treatfest is a safe alternative to traditional Trick-or-Treating. Working with Gary the Happy Pirate and the Pirate Toy Fund, we are developing indoor trick-or-treating, a haunted house, balloon creatures, face painting, and other fun filled family centered activities.
Our other major new event is the Rock-N-Country-Blues Festival. Taking place on October 9 and 10th, the Rock-N-Country-Blues Festival features six local, “home grown” bands over two nights. Expect to see many of the other ingredients Rochester festival goers are accustomed to such as great food and drinks, assorted vendors, and fun activities.
We believe that by these couple of changes we will be able to more completely fill the community building and affirmation and support of youth that are main stays of our mission statement. I am excited about the potential of both events to bring the FEXPO to the fore front of local awareness as a place for safe, affordable, family fun.
For more information on these and otehr events cheeck out this link: www.fairandexpocenter.org/calendar

Invisible Pigs and the swine flu

2009-05-14T15:37:30Z

Ii is funny, in the interesting way, not the ha-ha way, how sometimes no matter how much work and planning is put into a project outside forces can come along and either change or destroy completely everything thing done up to that point. A case in point is our promotion plan for the 2009 Monroe County Fair involving chloe, the invisible pig. We had story lines created, art work done (apparently an invisible pig is much harder to draw than a visible pig), locatins secured for video work, and the prestory up on our sister site: www.mcfair.com.
Everything is going along fine and the adventures of Chloe promises to be one of our best and most fun events in quite a while. then along comes the swine flu (now known as H1N1) and suddenly every thing pig is taboo. Even though swine flu is a bit of a misnomer and there really is no connection between it and the cloven animal, people do not want any thing to do with anything pig. Egyptians are slaughtering hundreds of thousands of the animals and people the world over are anti-hog.
So ends the adventures of Chloe, the invisible pig. She is lost no more. She has returned home to her family to enjoy a quiet, peaceful existence full of mud and slop and all other things boar-ish. She is still a fun-loving, adventurous swine, but for now she remains close to home, family, and fair. She still gets a bit nervous when people talk of pork chops or bacon, but in general she is a happy, contented hog.
The marketing committee mean while is talking of things such as “Ag in the City” and Buying Giggles. Well I guess it could be considered job security and life goes on. Unless, of course, you are an Egyptian pig.

The biggest, best, worst, ever!

2009-01-14T17:23:09Z

One of the reasons I picked the TV news channel I watch when I first moved to Rochester was the weatherman on that station. It was January and promos on the different channels were emphasizing how bad the weather was going to be. Every time I heard one of these promos, I was expecting to have to leave an hour or two early for my five minute commute to work. This, of course, would be after spending most of the morning digging my truck out of a snow drift higher than the roof of the house. the weatherman came on the 11 o’clock news and said something to the effect of it will be cold and windy with a few inches of snow, but nothing we can’t handle. Finally, I was able to relax enough to go to bed and get some sleep.
Now it seems that every time I turn around I hear about the “biggest event ever,” or the “worst storm in a generation.” or “the best way to lose weight.” You get the idea. We can’t just have a sale or a rain storm or a party. It has to be the biggest sale or the rainiest storm of the ‘rockinest” party ever. Yet even these events do not measure up to my memories of similar events from my younger days.
Some of that is obviously the perspective of youth, which can be a topic for another time, but much of it is build up, the hype that seems to be so prevalent, so necessary in today’s world. I don’t understand why every event, every day has to be the most, the best, the worst happening ever or at least in recent memory. I know the every day occurrences don’t make good headlines or sell more newspapers, but they do oftentimes make the best memories, the best friendships, the best families. Perhaps it is just the fact that not having huge expectations makes reality easier to not let you down, much like going to a movie that you’ve heard so much about, but doesn’t thrill you.
It is the day to day events that not only make up the greater part of life, but also build the core and foundation of the individual that is then able to stand up to the actual biggest, best, worst events that get thrown at us. So many older people that I have spoken with concentrate not on the disasters nor the huge celebrations when they reflect on their years. Rather they speak of family, friends, beloved pets, and other people and things that made up day-to-day life. these are the people and things that make up our lives and they are also the people and things that we will one day hold as our dearest memories.
So, while the biggest, best, and worst do happen occasionally and do add a certain spice to life, it is the everyday and the over-and over again that for me, make the memories. These, so called, mundane every day events are what I remember most now as I look back on younger days and I expect they will turn out to be the truly memorable and the actual biggest, best and worst times of my life.

Frankie the cat and Albert Einstein

2008-12-12T17:10:21Z

I was watching our cat, Frankie, this morning and it got me to thinking. Everyday when I finish my shower and open the shower curtain Frankie jumps up into the tub and tries to figure out where all the water is going. Her head actually goes in little circles as she watches the water go down the drain. then she sits and stares for a couple of minutes as if waiting for the water to come back.
After this she joins me in the bedroom where she stares at the “other” cat in the closet door mirror. She paws at this other cat, I am not sure if it is a rival cat or a playmate, and the she occasionally runs and jumps at the other cat. The loud band and the bump on her head do not seem to detour her at all, as she is right back at it again. When I open the closet door, Frankie quickly runs in to find her antithesis. She checks from one end of the closet to the other making sure this other cat is not hiding in any shoes or behind any boxes. Only when she is fully satisfied there is on cat there does she come out. Then when I close the closet door she is back examining this strange, disappearing, other cat.
For some reason as I was watching Frankie this morning, I was reminded of a quote from Albert Einstein that goes something like this; “A person should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.” And then I remembered another Einstein quote; “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
How many time do we do this same thing, at least I know that I do. I do the same thing at home or at work and then am surprised when it leads to the same results. This is not always a bad thing as good actions can lead to good results over and over again. However, as Tom at work says, “everything has a life cycle.” He is usually referring to a product or an recurring event at the Fexpo, and I am finding this more and more to be true. What worked five or ten years ago does not necessarily work today. That is one reason we are constantly bombarded for products that are “new and improved.” There are numerous shows and other events that once filled all of the buildings at the Fexpo and now have become smaller. It is often difficult for people to recognize and deal with this fact and because of this things (promotions, advertising, vendor relations, etc.) are still done the same way.
Change is necessary. It must be planned, researched, tested, and tweaked along the way, but if we do not change the way we do things, even the way we think of things, then we run the risk of becoming irrelevant.
The dearer some thing is to our heart, the more ownership we have of it, the more difficult this is to do. As Einstein also said; “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
Here is hoping that as the new year approaches we are all able to take this to heart as we continue to grow and develop individually and with our specific groups.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and New Year filled with change and growth to all!

A Short Fexpo Quiz

2008-11-11T20:00:34Z

I thought we could take a minute and try a quick multiple choice quiz about the Fair and Expo Center, so here goes:

1) Which of the following will you not see at the Fexpo in the next few weeks?
a) Young men throwing each other through the air
b) People dancing around the dome with no shoes on
c) A bunch of Woody (from Toy Story)’s friends
d) A hippo wearing ballerina shoes

2) Again, which of the following will you not see at the Fexpo in the next few weeks?
a) Young women throwing each other through the air
b) Fireworks
c) People coming to voluntarily get their arms pricked
d) Mean Al smiling

3) Which of these is not a recent update to our facilities?
a) Wireless internet throughout the buildings
b) Handicap restrooms in the Dome
c) Computerized heating and cooling system
d) A tunnel from the Marketing office to the donut department at the new Wegman’s

Ready for the answers? Here we go:

1) Flying men are at the NWA Upstate wrestling show this Saturday. Shoe-less dancers will be at the Meals-On-Wheels 50th anniversary sock hop, also Saturday. Sunday brings the Vintage Toy and Collectibles Show. So, despite rumors to the contrary, there will be no hippo in ballerina shoes any time soon. The correct answer is D.

2) See young women throwing each other through the air at the Empire State Spirit Nationals cheer leading competition Next Saturday and Sunday. Fireworks are coming to the Town of Henrietta New Year’s Eve celebration. People will be coming for Flu Shots on November 19th. So the correct answer is again D, though Mean Al has been known to smirk, his smile is still unverified.

3) Thanks to our ongoing renovations we now have WiFi in the Dome, Welcome court and Minett, newly renovated restrooms in the Dome, and an automated HVAC system. However, despite the best efforts of Tom, Chris, and Al, no tunnels were included in the construction! Once again the correct answer is D.

How did you score on our quiz? If you got all three right you win a free pass to all events at the Fexpo that do not charge admission. Other wise please stop at Mean Al’s Cafe to pay for your free tickets!!

Stay well until we meet again.

You can run ……

2008-09-28T15:46:10Z

As many people know, the food at the Fair and Expo Center goes under the “Mean Al’s” umbrella. I like to take a moment and share a couple of our tag lines with you beginning with: “Mean Al’s You Can Run But You Can’t Hide!” Our special thanks to Susan Grantham for this piece of genius. People often ask “you can run but you can’t hide? what does that mean?” It actually means something different to each person who tastes it. I like to think that I am actually not that Mean, but as my wife says I make some pretty “mean” chili, sandwiches, etc. You can’t hide from th taste of our food. We don’t believe in put a little of this or a little piece of that in a recipe. Understated background flavors and a hint of this or that can add layers of taste and flavor, but most of our food is upfront, bold, and in your face. You don’t have to guess if there are onions, peppers, and tomatoes, in the chili. You see them and taste them right from the start. So you can try to run from the flavor, but you can’t hide from the experience.

Another saying we have is our coffee is “as strong as an ox on a moon lit night.” We don’t mess around, you’ll know you are drinking coffee and not just water with a hint of brown color to it! If you have ever seen an ox on a moon-lit night, muscles bulging, breath billowing up into the cool night air, you just know you have seen something special. One taste of our coffee and you’ll know you have a cup of joe and not wonder if we use the same grounds all day long. Plus with our special brew by the cup system the coffee is always fresh and not bitter from sitting around for too long.

Finally, for now, we like to say the taste of our chili is “knee deep to an armadillo” I must confess I think I had one or two or even three too many glasses of small batch bourbon before coming up with that one. After all armadillos don’t have really long legs, so its not like we are saying that the the taste of the chili is deep or goes on and on. I may have to have a few more sips of Kentucky Whiskey to see if the original meaning comes back to me. For now, though, I like the way “knee deep to an armadillo” sounds so it will stay. If you tell me what it might mean let me know before I head back out to the liquor store!

Even I can run, but I can’t hide!!

WeePeats and Wrestling

2008-09-25T14:40:50Z

this weekend is WeePeats and Wrestling and I was thinking it would be hard to have two more diverse groups at one time at the Fexpo Center. Then I remembered last winter when we had the gun show and the rabbit show both going on at the same time. you should have seen some of the eyes of the gun show people light up when they heard there was a rabbit show in the other building. For a while I thought it was going to be Haussenpfeffer (spelling?) for everyone! So I was wrong, WeePeats and Wrestling are not the

most

diverse groups we have had here.
The WeePeats show amazes me because of the amount of goods and people that come through here in a short period of time, and almost all done with volunteers. Last spring they had a line down the side of Minett Hall and over to the horse arena with people waiting to get in to the show. And wait they did, some people more than an hour! I don’t think I could wait that long to get into any event unless I was camping out and using “liquid stimulation” to keep warm and awake. I guess the deals on the children’s clothing, games, toys, and furniture must make it worth the wait.
The wrestling (NWA Upstate NY) amazes me for a different reason. The fans get into the show more than any other group at the Fexpo save for maybe the WBEE concerts, and the wrestling fans do not consume nearly the amount of alcohol that the country music fans do. To see the bodies flying around the ring and the fans yelling, screaming, and cheering it is easy to understand how people can get worked up and carried away with their favorite wrestlers.
All of this talk of kids and wrestlers is making me hungry. (Big surprise as basically anything like being awake or sleeping makes me hungry!) It is time for a great big bowl of Mean Al’s Homemade Chili, it is after all, tasty, spicy, and “knee deep to an armadillo!”
Until next time be safe and remember you can run, but you can’t hide!

The Season

2008-09-03T14:52:17Z

It’s that time of year again. Children are back to school, the night air has a wee bit of chill to it, the leaves are just starting to show some color, and the Fair and Expo Center is starting to get busy again. We start off slow this weekend with the Rochester Pigeon Fanciers Show. this is one of those shows that doesn’t generate a ton of outside interest, but is very noticable in the “pigeon community.” Before my first time with this show. I never knew there were so many different kinds of pigeons. I just thought there were the pigeons you see on the street that some people feed and others might try to eat. Was I wrong! there are more varieties than you can shake a stick at (and who hasn’t wanted to do that after a pigeon has dropped a little “gift” on your shoulder!).

There are pigeons that fly, pigeons that walk, and even pigeons that roll. There are many different colors of pigeons that fly in variety of different ways. I don’t know or understand the judging process, and that doesn’t hold my attention for long, but it is fun to speak with some of the pigeoneers to learn and see some new stuff.

Next weekend gets busier with the used and antique book fair and the ever famous WORLD’S GREATEST GARAGE SALE. check back soon for more information on these events and if you want to clear out some of the stuff around your house, we still have about 5 or 10 booths left at the garage sale!

Until next time remember the Fexpo Center is “Your place for events and banquets.’

Go Packers!!!

Weddings

2008-08-21T13:40:32Z

It is another beautiful day at the Fexpo and I can’t help but wish I was outside in the sun shine instead of in my tiny windowless cubicle. However, “the show must go on” and we have a meeting this afternoon with a young engaged couple. Looks like all of Tom’s work with the Wedding planner might be finally paying off.
As I prepare for this meeting I can’t help but look back 5 years to my own nuptuals. I had never been more excited in my life. It was a beautiful August day, the PGA tour was in town and all was right with the world for a couple of hours. Watching my bride walk down the aisle with her father, I had never felt such a rush of excitement, joy, love, or anticipation. Nothing else even comes close. I do reminiss, but I just can’t help it this time of year.
Back to the future, 2009 and beyond. Putting together a package for this couple’s wedding is fun and hopefully it leads to many more of the same. It is great to be part of their day and add, in some small way, to the event. I have to remember to tell the bride-to-be to bring a pair of slippers to change into. It kept my wife’s feet feeling great and it only made her an inch or so shorter! She had a great time showing her slippers off to the other people on the dance floor.
Until next time, stay young and in love!!