Electricians, laborers and painters came together Wednesday at the Head of the Lakes Fairgrounds to spruce up the grounds with just three weeks to spare before the fair comes to town.
About a dozen volunteers with the building trades got to work scraping and painting restrooms, building prefabricated sheds and work on fence repairs during the United Way Day of Caring.
"I can use all the help I can get," said Tom Yadon, groundskeeper for the fairgrounds; he was busy scraping paint on the cinder block walls of the restrooms to make way for a fresh coat of paint. "It's everything I can do to keep the lawn mowed around here."
As Yadon worked on one wall, Stan Paczynski worked to paint the edge the walls of on an adjacent restroom as Craig Olson - a painter by trade and business manager for the local union - worked rolling out paint around the corner.
"They could keep painters busy here for a month," Olson said.
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However, he said community service is an important to people who would in the trades, so when they heard the fair needed help, the decided to pitch in.
"This is a lot more fun than a building trades meeting," said Dan Olson, business manager for Laborers Local 1091. He anticipated more volunteers would show up to help once the meeting he missed was over.
It's good to help the community and give something back, said Darick Carlson of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 242 in Duluth. He worked with Yadon to shave off loose paint.
Throughout the Twin Ports and in Two Harbors, Michelle Ruszat, community coordinator for Superior with the Head of the Lakes United Way, estimated about 400 volunteers fanned out across the area to tackle projects from supply drives for local organizations and fixing gardens.
For Joann O'Brien of the Head of the Lakes fair management group, volunteers have been an invaluable resource for sprucing up the grounds. Wednesday's efforts were augmented in May when volunteers from Enbridge came and scraped paint and helped with other projects on the grounds, O'Brien said. However, more paint worked loose from the walls since then.
With the fair just three weeks away - July 11-16 - O'Brien said she was grateful for the help.
The final fair group meeting before the fair begins at 6 p.m. Thursday in the lower level of the multipurpose building.
The fair is still looking for volunteers and to fill some paid positions, she said. Anyone interested in learning more can call (715) 394-7848 or (218) 591-2138.
