The next Lonesome Dove Fest or Karnes County Youth Show may be a lot more comfortable.

The Karnes County Youth Show Barn is undergoing renovation as contractors install a series of new upgrades to the facility, many of which are geared toward making things easier on event-goers and exhibitors.

The biggest improvement included in the $100,000 worth of renovation will be to the restrooms, according to Karnes County Agriculture Extension Agent Dennis Hale.

"Right now, the men’s and women’s restrooms are together. That area is going to become the men’s restroom and a dressing room will be added to that," he said. "On the other side of the barn over by the concession stand, there’ll be a brand new set of women’s restrooms built."

The new facilities will be heated and will contain dressing rooms and a baby-changing station.

The restrooms aren’t just being placed on opposite sides of the barn by accident. Hale said the placement is a calculated idea to minimize traffic flow through different doors. Previously, all show-goers male and female had to access the facilities through one main door.

The new setup will split that traffic in two in addition to increasing the overall size of both restrooms.

The project also covers several other projects. The pavilion outside the concession stand area will be enlarged and handicap parking spaces will be added near it.

At the back side of the barn, brand new commercial steer pens will be installed, removing the pens from the inside of the barn and freeing up lots of space.

A new set of small-animal wash racks will also be added along with brand new swine, lamb, and goat pens.

The construction is expected to take three to four months. The Karnes County Youth Show committee took out a note to pay for the repairs and expect to have the amount paid back over a period of 10 years.

"Our last note, which was expansion on parking lots and different things, was paid off this year. The show board has made a decision that once a note is paid off, we will look into what improvements can be made (because) if you’re going to raise money during the benefit toward building improvements, people want to see building improvements," Hale explained.

The show committee also consulted with representatives from the Lonesome Dove Fest, Karnes County’s largest festival.

Lonesome Dove Fest Sponsorship Chairman Cletus Bianchi said the upgrades, especially the bathroom expansions and the removal of the old indoor commercial steer pens, will benefit the event greatly.

"It’s going to be very beneficial to Lonesome Dove Fest, especially to the ladies with the new restrooms they have laid out," Bianchi said. "It makes it much more exhibitor-friendly. We’re very excited about it. It’s going to make Lonesome Dove Fest better."