The new Southeast Alaska State Fair executive director resigned after a month on the job after controversy erupted over the fair board’s scheduling of Juneau Drag to perform at the Southeast Alaska State Fair this summer.

“I came and I saw. It’s not a good fit for me,” Bev Kryder said of the controversy over the drag act. “I need to step away from this situation. Every day you weigh what it is you want to do with your life and how to contribute. You have to decide what’s worth owning. For me, because this is not my place, my town, I don’t have that connection to want to do this. I just don’t fit.”

Residents have emailed and called the fair board and staff in opposition to the drag show and some asked the assembly to stop funding the fair during public comment at an assembly meeting last week.

Kryder moved from Ohio to Haines on Feb. 27. She said she’s been considering whether the area was right for her since her arrival. She said the experience of living in Haines “was a little harder than I thought it would be” due to other factors including its isolation and weather.

Kryder said she plans to leave as soon as possible. Her immediate plan is to return to her hometown in Goshen, Indiana.

For most of her fair career prior to Haines, Kryder served as fairgrounds manager at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair in Goshen, Indiana, the fourth largest 4-H fair in the state. She was responsible for maintaining the 342-acre site, which includes 323 campsites used to supplement fair income.

Immediate fair goals include rebuilding the Klondike Saloon stage (destroyed by heavy snows in 2021) and working on the fair’s strategic plan for Dalton City, the false-front town built 30 years ago that provides rental income and serves as a venue for many of the fair’s headline events, including Brewfest.

Fair board president Spencer Douthit said the board will not likely rehire for the position until fall. Fair community outreach director Amanda Randles will serve as interim executive director through the summer. Douthit said the board understands Krdyer’s position and appreciated her work.

“We really appreciate her moving all the way across the country and coming to Haines and working hard to make the fair as good as possible,” Douthit said. “We’re sad that it turned out to not work for her. But we recognize it was a big thing for her to come across the country and I appreciate her giving us a chance.”