FAIRFIELD – The event was less than a day, but it took months of preparation for RAGBRAI’s visit to Fairfield to go off without a hitch.

Terry Baker, one of the three co-chairs of the Fairfield RAGBRAI Executive Committee along with Mendy McAdams and Monserrat Iniguez, said she was impressed with the hard work of the committee members and the large number of volunteers who helped ensure the 20,000 riders had a good time during their stop on Friday, July 26.

“We got quite a bit of feedback from riders and vendors that we were the best meeting town,” Baker said. “We were very organized and had lots of things for people to do, so people were really happy.”

The square was closed to parking at noon on Thursday, July 25. Baker said they needed to close it early enough to have time to set up the main stage for the performers, the beer garden, portable toilets and more. All of the downtown businesses were notified in advance, and the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce ambassadors put fliers on parked cars for three days leading up to the event so locals knew to move their car.

Notice of the street closures was posted the week before in The Southeast Iowa Union and on social media accounts, but nevertheless, Baker said some people still slipped through the cracks and were surprised to learn they would have to move their car that day.

“Could we have started [the street closures] maybe a little later? Possibly, but we would have run into similar issues with parking whether it had been at lunchtime or later,” Baker said. “That’s something that I think we will evaluate. Our intention was not to create an inconvenience for anyone parked in the downtown, but to facilitate an event that brought 20,000 people into town.”

Baker said her committee is still gathering feedback from local businesses about how they fared, and she noted that Willow & Bright owner Shelbee Richards wasn’t even sure she would be open, but decided to welcome the riders to her store, and was glad she did since it turned into a great day for sales.

The Fairfield RAGBRAI Hospitality Committee was in charge of creating artwork that fit the town’s theme of “Woodstalk,” which included putting a cornstalk outside the Fairfield Iowa Convention & Visitor’s Bureau’s office, and a giant peace sign in Central Park. That peace sign was made by Jeremy Cranston, who used a trampoline frame.

A number of local organizations used the event to raise money or advertise products. Antariksha Sharma is a student at Maharishi School, and she and several of her classmates sold food and beverages from the school’s booth. She mentioned that they set up their booth before 7 a.m., and their first customer arrived around 8 a.m.

Members of High Temperature Dance Academy set up a booth to sell fresh watermelon, pickle juice shots, and bottled beverages. The group was raising money toward dance competitions. The downtown business Sip & Glo set up a booth to sell juice, protein balls and puppy chow. On the east side of the square was the beer garden, built using loaned materials such as lumber from Keosauqua Lumber, barrels courtesy of TrafFix Devices, and beer tanks from Bomgaars.

Baker said hosting RAGBRAI for a morning and afternoon felt like good practice for potentially hosting big events in the future.

“Fairfield used to have a few bigger events that have tapered off, and we’re in a position where if we want to host events that bring people to town, we have the info we need on how to be successful,” she said.