Cantaloupe Festival Makes Tech Upgrades to Fairgrounds

Thanks to the determination of The Fallon Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair, the Churchill County Fairgrounds is receiving a much needed technological upgrade. Through the combined efforts of the Festival, CC Communications, and Parks and Recreation, state-of-the-art fiber optical mesh networking is being installed at the Fair Grounds. A mesh network offers several advantages; it requires less equipment, is less expensive, is expandable and extremely reliable, and will support high demand. The Cantaloupe Festival has seen consistent growth over the last five years, according to Robyn Openshaw, Festival volunteer and former director. “We have 87 vendors this year with more applications coming in every day.” Having Wi-Fi will making buying and selling much easier. “One of the primary goals of the project is to improve the vendor’s experience,” explained Festival Chair, Zip Upham. Several Point of Sale systems, including Square, operate optimally over Wi-Fi and often encounter slow-downs and connection problem when running over a cellular network. By adding networking and Wi-Fi capabilities, several aspects of running the event will also be improved. Gate operations will be sped up adding convenience for event-goers as well as volunteers.  When the installation is complete, Wi-Fi will extend to other structures inside the gates, including the announcer’s booth in the main arena and will be available for all future events. The Festival Board will have invested about $8,500 in the project when it’s complete. “Proceeds from previous events have helped us fund the project,” stated Upham, “We want to do more than just hold the premier agricultural event in Northern Nevada; we want to give back to the community as well.” In another display of community support, CC Communications has been a Premier Sponsor to the Festival contributing a sizable $20,000 for the last three years running. “We are pretty happy to continue being the Premier Sponsor,” stated CC Comm General Manager, Mark Fest. The installation is currently underway with NNE Construction bringing conduit to the Fair Grounds from the intersection of Sheckler and Allen Road. Dave Tilley, CC Comm Broadband Supervisor, estimates that they will begin splicing fiber by the second week in August. Fortunately, much of the other work on the project has been completed. Jorge Guerrero, Parks and Recreation director and his crew are nearly ready for the fiber, despite facing some challenges. “We did have some trouble digging through the Park,” stated Guerrero, “There is a lot of existing abandoned infrastructure underground.” According to Tilley, who designed the install, the upgraded fiber optics will produce seamless network capabilities. “Then, adding robust wireless on top, you really get your upgrade,” Tilley stated. However, Wi-Fi will initially only be available to vendors and Cantaloupe Festival staff during the event. The hope is that eventually Wi-Fi will be made available to the public if the capacity exists, however much works remains to be done before that can be determined. Another upgrade has recently been completed but is structural rather than technological. A gate has been installed at the east end of the Festival area along the fire lane allowing the entire Festival perimeter to be secured. With a much smaller investment of $1,500, this addition to the facility will make operating the Festival safer and prevent unauthorized persons or vehicles on the premise during the event. All in all, the combined efforts made by community organizations for the benefit of the entire community are the things that small towns are made of.  Fallon is proud to be home to such great contributors; The Cantaloupe Festival, Churchill County Parks and Recreation, and CC Communications.