Comanche Nation Fair Sees Changes
Attendees of the 2023 Comanche Nation Fair will see some changes this year.
President of Comanche Nation Fair Board June Kester said the land run will have an online registration this year.
“Registration will be strictly enforced,” she said. “So, if they come on the day of to set up, they will just be stopped, and then we can register them on-site. If somebody happens to try to set up camp where there’s somebody else registered, we’ll just move them and help them register for their own site.”
She said they’re still working on getting registration ready.
“We’re currently working extremely hard with law enforcement and with the IT department on our camper registration,” Kester said. “That is set to go live on September 1, and we also have an event set up with the Elder’s Council so that we, as the fair board, can help be there to assist our elders when it is time for them to register for campsites.”
She said they measured sites to ensure room for a car, tent and anything else campers might need.
“They’ll be numbered, and they’ll be rows, and they’ll be more organized,” Kester said. “So, when you go on the website and you pick your site, you’ll be able to, when get on site, you’ll be able to see your number, you’ll see your location.”
Annual events are still active this year; however, there won’t be a rodeo, a softball tournament or a music festival.
“Most of the annual events; the golf tournament, the carnival, of course, will be up and running, and our powwow, which is the center of the fair, will be up and running for the three days, and we’ll have children’s activities,” she said.
There will be a horseshoe tournament and cornhole, a parade and hot dogs after the parade.
Kester said they have everything in the works and are wrapping up event fliers and a schedule of events.
“This year, we’ll be moving our peyote meeting to the weekend before,” she said. “We’re hoping that this will open it up for more employees to be able to go and, of course, more visitors over the weekend. And we’re going to have the buffalo harvest as well. This will be the second year that we’ll be doing the buffalo harvest.”
Kester said the fair board is there to help transition to the upcoming changes.
“We want to be moving forward and always doing better as the fair board continues to grow,” she said. “I mean, last year, I think, was our biggest year ever, and so that’s part of what this whole thing is, is just working together and coming up with ideas. We’ve outgrown our space, and we’ve also got a lot of structures coming up on the limited space that we already have. And so, we understand that it’s a big change, but we’re hoping this will be a good change, and we’ll make sure that it’s fair and there’s room for everybody who wants to come and camp.”
The Comanche Nation Fair will run from Friday, September 29, through Sunday, October 1, with some events starting the week prior.
