James R. Johnson Charitable Trust will fund building of new Free Stage at Wright County Fairgrounds

During Opening Ceremonies held at the Wright County Fair on Wednesday evening, July 11, Fair Manager Tricia Rosendahl had some very exciting news. As anyone who attends the fair regularly knows, the Free Stage blew down in a high wind storm just a week after the 2016 Wright County Fair. That left the Fair Board scrambling, looking for different options to hold the many fair events that happen there - like the Fashion Revue, Share the Fun, and guest performer appearances.

Their answer for the last two years has been a portable stage because building new was just too expensive. But when the 2019 fair rolls around, there will once again be a permanent, new and improved stage thanks to the James R. Johnson Charitable Trust Fund.

“The Free Stage has become one of our focal points of the fair,” said Rosendahl.

The new Fair Stage project began when Dick and Kevin Cahalan requested to be part of a Wright County Fair Board meeting back in 2017.

“They wanted to hear more about the Free Stage plans,” said Rosendahl.

Dick, as the trustee for the James R. Johnson Charitable Trust, thought perhaps this might be the perfect project that Johnson would have chosen to contribute to were he still alive. Kevin, as a caregiver to Johnson, and Charlie Walker as the attorney for his estate agreed.

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