August 2016 Volume 4 WCP NEWS

Winnebago County Parks Dept. 625 E. Cty. Rd. Y #500, Oshkosh WI 54901

(920)232-1960 www.co.winnebago.wi.us/parks

email:

WinnebagoCountyParks@co.winnebago.wi.us.

WINNEBAGO COUNTY PARKS DEPARTMENT

& SUNNYVIEW EXPO CENTER

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Picture Yourself in Winnebago County Parks!

Inside this Issue:

Arch-raiser 2 Olympic Venues in WI? 4 Calendar of Events 7 Spotlight On 9 Sponsor’s Corner 8

The 2016 Rio Olympic Games

The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, and commonly known as Rio 2016, is a major international multi-sport event in the tradition of the Olympic Games due to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Record numbers of countries are participating in a record number of sports. More than 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees, including first time entrants Koso-vo and South Sudan, will take part. With 306 sets of medals, the games will feature 28 Olympic sports — including rugby sevens and golf, which were added by the International Olympic Committee in 2009. These sporting events will take place at 33 venues in the host city and at 5 venues in the cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Brasília, and Ma-naus.

The Summer Olympic Games take place

August 5 to 21, 2016

Page 2 WCP NEWS

Olympic Dreams? Winnebago County Parks & Sunnyview Expo Center have you

covered.

Here’s our check list of Olympic events taking place in Brazil August 5—

21 and counterpart venues right here in Winnebago County Parks.

Venues—The battle for Olympic medals will take place in 32 venues in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, plus five football co-host cities: Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Manaus, Salvador and São Paulo.

Winnebago County Community Park—This park’s abundance of open space and easy access are among its greatest assets. The 270-acre site is located in the far northern section of the City of Oshkosh between County Road Y and Snell Road, and County Road A and Highway 76. Facilities include four shelters with playground equipment and support amenities, and a large private pavilion, which can be reserved, two lighted ball diamonds, an 18 field soccer complex, an archery range, rugby fields, 36 hole disc golf course, three picnic shelters, which can be reserved and three fishing lakes .

Sunnyview Exposition Center consists of 78 acres of manicured grounds. This site plays host to a wide va-riety of events including horse shows, festivals, trade shows, major concerts, The Winnebago County Fair, racing events, meetings and training sessions.

WIOUWASH & Mascoutin Recreational Trails—The WIOUWASH trail runs on an abandoned railroad corridor and is 21.8 miles long. Mascoutin Valley State Trail is 5.3 miles long. Both trails have beautiful scenery for all activi-ties such as walking, hiking, bicycling, and horseback riding in the summer months.

Winnebago County Boat Landings include Black Wolf Boat Landing, Boom Bay Boat Landing, Poygan Boat Landing, Asylum Boat Landing, Butte Des Morts Landing, Eureka Boat Landing, Osh-o-nee Boat Landing

Archery

A fascinating test of nerve and accuracy, archery made its Olympic debut at Paris 1900, with women joining in four years later. At Rio 2016, both genders will compete in individual and team events, aiming for that perfect score.

Winnebago County Community Park—archery range has multiple targets at various distances as well as an elevated shooting area and is ADA accessible.

Badminton

With shuttlecocks travelling at up to 400 km/h, badminton requires fast reflexes from the players and the audience’s full attention. It has been in the Games since Barcelona 1992. Men and women compete in individual and doubles events, and mixed doubles.

The Parks Office rents picnic kits with badminton rackets, birdies and nets for use anywhere within the Winnebago

County Community Park.

Basketball

A magnificent spectacle of dribbling, slam-dunks and three-pointers. At Rio 2016, basketball is celebrating 80 years

in the Olympic Games – its debut was at Berlin 1936. Twelve teams of each gender will be battling for medals.

Winnebago County Community Park’s multi-sport court has half court basketball.

Beach Volleyball

Perhaps no other sport is more closely associated with Rio de Janeiro than beach volleyball, which has been in the Olympic Games since Atlanta 1996. The men’s and women’s competitions will take place on the famous sands of Copacabana beach.

When renting the Pavilion in Winnebago County Community Park there is a sand area with volleyball net for use by

pavilion renters.

Page 3 WCP NEWS

Canoe Sprint

Competitors race on flat water in kayaks or canoes in this sport, which made its Olympic debut at the Berlin 1936 Games. Twelve gold medals – eight for men and four for women – are up for grabs on Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas.

Winnebago County has 7 boat landings from which to launch your canoe or kayak.

Cycling BMX

Cycling’s most recent Olympic discipline (it debuted at Beijing 2008), BMX is an exciting sport which mixes intense racing, big jumps and plenty of crashes. In Rio there are men’s and women’s individ-ual events.

Wisconsin’s best rated BMX track, Winnebagoland BMX is located at Sunnyview Expo Center.

Cycling Mountain Bike

A sport for fans of adventure and adrenaline, mountain bike challenges competitors with steep climbs, fast descents and natural obstacles. Twenty years after its Olympic debut at Atlanta 1996, there are individual events for men and women in Rio.

The WIOUWASH and Mascoutin Trails aren’t too hilly but provide great scenery for biking.

Cycling Road

A test of endurance and a race against the clock. Be it the road race or time trial, road cycling events will be contested against the background of Rio’s stunning scenery. The sport has been in the Olympic Games since Athens 1896.

There’s an asphalt path within the Winnebago County Community Park perfect for a smooth bike

ride as well as the Tribal Heritage Crossing of the WIOUWASH Trail.

Equestrian

The only Olympic sport in which men and women compete against each other on a level playing field, equestrian has three disciplines: eventing, dressage and jumping, all of them with individual and team competitors.

The Sunnyview Expo Center hosts many different breeds of horses showing in dressage, jumping, halter, Western, English and gymkhana.

Football

Gooooal! Football became an Olympic sport at the Paris 1900 Games, with women joining in at At-lanta 1996. In Rio, 16 countries will battle for the men’s title and 12 for the women’s gold medals. Matches are played in seven stadiums across the country.

Winnebago County Community Park’s 17 soccer fields provide lots of space for games.

Rowing

Rowing, which made its Olympic debut at the Paris 1900 Games, has more than a century of tradi-tion in the waters of Rio de Janeiro. There are eight men’s and six women’s events in boats for one, two, four or nine (including the coxswain) competitors.

Launch your boat from any of Winnebago County’s 7 boat landings for a row along a scenic part of the Winnebago System.

Picture Yourself in Winnebago County Parks!

Picture Yourself in Winnebago County Parks!

Page 4 VOLUME 4

Rugby Sevens

Although the 15-player version of the sport appeared at the Olympic Games between 1900 and 1924, Rio 2016 marks the debut of rugby sevens, a faster, shorter adaption. Bravery, skill and speed will be in abundance in the men’s and women’s tournaments.

There are two fields for rugby within the Winnebago County Community Park, one for practice and one for games.

Table Tennis

Part of the Olympic Games since Seoul 1988, table tennis is the most popular racket sport in the world. Devilish spin and incredible reflexes make it a spellbinding spectacle. Men and women com-pete individually and in teams

The northern terrace of the Pavilion within the Winnebago County Community Park has an outdoor table tennis table for everyone’s use and the Parks Office rents picnic kits with paddles and

balls.

Tennis

Point by point, game by game, set by set, tennis is both fiercely contested and delightfully graceful. Men debuted in the Olympic Games at Athens 1896, women at Paris 1900. There are men’s and women’s singles and doubles, plus mixed doubles.

Not only does the Winnebago County Community Park’s multi-sport court have half court bas-

ketball there’s three tennis courts that can double as pickleball courts.

Volleyball

Bursting with electrifying rallies, blocks and spikes, volleyball has been thrilling Olympic audiences since Tokyo 1964. In Rio it will be held at the famous Maracanãzinho, the spiritual home of the sport in Brazil.

There are picnic kits available for rental at the Parks Office that include volleyball nets as well as balls. There’s also volleyball nets set up at two of the shelters within the Winnebago County Com-

munity Park.

Picture Yourself in Winnebago County Parks!

Page 5 WCP NEWS

Picture Yourself in Winnebago County Parks!

Sunnyview Expo Center & Community Park Events

AUGUST 2016

August 2-7 WINNEBAGO COUNTY FAIR

August 9 Primary Elections

August 12-14 Greater WI Outdoor & Sportsman Festival

August 13 Three on Three Soccer Tournament

August 12, 13, 19, 26 Oshkosh Speed Zone Racing

August 20 & 21 WI Desert Horse Assoc. Horse Show

August 21 Doggie Paddle at the Park

August 20, 21, 27, 28 Cruisin’ Safely Motorcycle Class

August 25-28 Lazy Days Circuit Quarter Horse Show

August 26 Sheriff’s Honor Guard Practice

August 27 High School Soccer Tournament

August 28 Doggie Paddle at the Park

For an annual calendar of events, event contact info, and facility rental information go to our website www.co.winnebago.wi.us/parks. All events are subject to

change without notice. Updates when possible will be posted on our Facebook page. For event specific questions please contact the promoter of the event .

Page 6 WCP NEWS

The Arch is home! Now we just need to put it up, so...

Concept drawing

Look for the booth inside the Expo Building at this year’s fair and make a

donation at the ticket office to re-create history!

Page 7 WCP NEWS

Thanks to Matt Westphal from Westie’s Collectables for rescuing The Arch from the scrap heap and painting it expo blue! Thank you to Winnebago County Highway Department for picking it up and delivering it home to the expo center grounds! Thank you to Julie Johnson for providing the origi-nal 1927 blue prints for us to use in replicating the brick structure! Also thanks to the WIDOC for use of their plasma cutter to make the letters.

This has truly become a county-wide project.

We now need help from the public to raise funds for bricks & mortar, electri-cal lighting and landscaping. The Arch’s new home is at the front entrance to the expo building.

Stop by ‘The Arch-raiser Booth’ at the Winnebago County Fair to see a rendering of the finished project and make a donation to re-create history!

Picture Yourself in Winnebago County Parks!

Page 8 WCP NEWS

Spotlight

On

Archway History

Picture Yourself in Winnebago County Parks!

The first Northern State Fair was held in 1870 by the Northern State Agricul-tural and Mechanical Association and was a counterpart to the State Fair in Madison.

As per the Northwestern from September of 1928:

‘”The archway at the auto entrance at Jackson drive and Murdock street is also finished. It was lighted for the first time Wednesday night and was the subject of many favorable comments on its attractiveness. It was noted that automo-biles which usually pass the vicinity in a hurry, slowed up perceptibly so that the occupants could take a longer view of the brilliantly-lighted archway.”

The arch was first lit on September 11, 1928 one week prior to the opening day of that year’s fair. The arch originally cost $1,500.00 and was built and installed by Flour Brothers Construction. The eagle at the top of the arch was procured from Friedley-Voshardt Co. of Chicago Illinois and is shown in their catalog as No. 4006.

Below is one of the original renditions of the arch done in wood. This arch was replaced with the steel arch after calamities struck the fairgrounds, a fire and storm damage.

The steel archway was re-moved from the premises when the fairgrounds was torn down and remained in private hands until 2015 when it was acquired at auc-tion from the estate of the citizen who had owned it since that time.

Page 9 WCP NEWS

By 1872, the Fair was conducted by the Northern State Fair Association and was held on the 60 acres located at the north end of Jackson Drive. In the ensuing years, building were erected. Some of these burned down and others were demolished by the devastating tornado of 1885. Large tents were then erected until the old build-ings could be replaced. Sometime in the early 1890's, the name of the sponsoring organization was

changed from the Northern State Fair Association to the Oshkosh Fair Association. In 1910, the name of the organization was again changed - this time to the Winnebago County Fair Association.

This organization was chartered in 1910 and remains as the presenting organization to this day. In 1990, the Fair was moved from the Jackson Street location (Murdock Street area) to it's present location on County Hwy. Y. At some point during it's long history the date of the Fair was changed

from the months of October and September to the current month of August.

This was partly due to the cold weather and also so that area youth could

enjoy the fun and lasting memories before resuming school in September.

What’s Up With…????

The internet connection at Sunnyview Expo Center’s Expo Building has been upgraded! Speeds were around 30-50 Mb over the wireless connection during tests. There are currently two high powered access points at each end of the building.

Through a partnership with Green Lake Green-ways and sponsor Vines & Rushes Winery there is now a beautiful area along the Mas-coutin Trail for great bird watching opportuni-ties. Green Lake Greenways states:

SPONSORS

CORNER

“This new area has incredible bird viewing. Locat-ed at the Rush Lake Wetlands area, approximately 2.5 miles north of the winery between County Rd E and Meadowbrook Road. There’s a picnic table onsite as well.”

VOLUME 4 Page 10

“Parks Picks”

Picture Yourself in Winnebago County Parks with...

Winnebago Saddle Horse Association Charity Horse Show

Lifest

Masterpiece Morgan Horse Show