Luann Dart

“We try offering a great lineup of entertainment. Once you get on grounds, there are so many things to do that are free. Our concerts are free, our entertainment on grounds is all free. We have something for every age group,” Schulz says.

Schulz is fully committed to bringing family-friendly entertainment with an educational aspect to the RRVF. So, instead of sampling funnel cakes or corn dogs, he’s been taste-testing dehydrated insects such as Sriracha crickets and a bug kabob, which will be offered during one of the fair’s free shows.

“We want to make everybody feel welcome, whether they are from here or traveling through,” said Madison Schuler, the owner of Dakota Coffee Co. in Wahpeton. “It’s our ‘North Dakota nice’ welcome.”

“The small businesses found in every community across our state provide the amenities, hospitality and service that make trips to North Dakota memorable,” Sara Otte Coleman, tourism director with the N.D. Department of Commerce, wrote in this month’s North Dakota Living.

The business was started by George and Elaine Gross in Napoleon after the two saw similar displays during a trip to Branson, Mo.

Meanwhile, the Spragues, who live on their third-generation family farm near the shores of Lake Isabel, had a tradition of stringing Christmas lights on the evergreen trees lining their driveway each season. But as the trees grew larger, that task was becoming more difficult. So, the couple visited George and Elaine one afternoon to look at their light displays.