Again, The Fair is Fair
I’ve been writing about the County Fair for several years now and I’m out of ideas on how to make the Fair a better event. I may be statistically off but it seems to me that it has become more and more lack-luster as the years go on with only regular Fair-goers attending. It appears the bleeding has stopped and it seems there are nearly or probably as many vendors as last year. There are lots of animals, though there are far fewer horse stalls occupied. One entire barn is unused and Posse is using and empty stalls take up a third of another barn.
It seems to me the less expensive it is to visit the fair the more people will attend. Washington County Fair is not charging for parking or admission this year. That is bold, but I bet more people attend. If you want more booths at the Fair, maybe make it really inexpensive for non-profit organizations to attend. Last year an indoor booth went for around $300. One vendor I spoke with didn’t start making a profit until late Saturday afternoon with only two hours to go.
I doubt the County Fair Grounds are breaking even either. It’s tough all over. So if you have some time support our Fair. Parking is free and admission is $6. The only way to make the Fair better is one person at a time.
posted by The Guy Who Writes This at 4:00 AM
9 Comments:
We went last night. I was surprised to see so many people there on a Tuesday night, but a majority of them were somehow involved or were families of 4-H kids and family of some of the entertainment. Of course Mo3 and Slave Hubby were there....for the RIDES. My daughter had the most fun of all of us catching up with all of her friends that seem to have pigs.
**sigh** Maybe next year.
We went to the Columbia County fair which has gone from sad to really sad. I was really disappointed in the 4H poultry exhibits. They didn't even try to write up correct entry tags. Half the birds were either unidentified or miss-identified. Some of them were so far into molting they looked half plucked and never should have been there.
Washington county was better but still just a ghost of it's past self.
We're going to Clark County fair next weekend, mainly to see a friends exhibits. Be interesting to see if that one has maintained some decent size.
We are trying to do our part to help the fairs survive. My DH entered several floral exhibits at Columbia County and we're hoping to someday enter poultry at Clark county.
I spent most of the day there yesterday and there was a surprising amount of people there. Maybe it is going to turn around. Good luck Gary.
I think Gary does a great job with the entertainment but I agree that the cost of booths has to come down. I loved it when there were more. Fair is where the "crap" belongs that seems to have gravitated to the weekend markets. Small bags of popcorn & kettlecorn for cheap prices, my gosh I couldn't even buy shaved ice! At a Fair! SMALL cotton candy, whipped out of the kettle in front of you on a paper cone. Roasted nuts.
Where in the heck is the Watkins lady? Did she finally kick the bucket? I always bought my linament at fair, now she hasn't been in two years.
It would be GREAT if Gary did a special, working with CEDR. New businesses got a special discount to put together a booth. Or, one of the bid items at KAST or KMUN fund drives be a discount or one day off for a booth at fair? Generate early thinking towards both fair and booth participation.
Gary is a busy guy. Though the fair grounds may look the same year to year, Gary is really transforming it by making the lower field dry so it can be used year round, Fixing up old buildings, refitting all electrical systems for energy efficiency. It's a fine line to walk between making things affordable and the Fair's bottom line.
Linament? What did this linament do?
I went to the fair and really enjoyed, the little bit of rain was warm.
It was nice to see many people there, the petting zoo was the biggest hit.
Would have been nice to have fresh produce for sale, maybe there was, I missed it.
I've never seen produce for sale at the Fair, but it's a great idea. I do wonder what happens to all the food that was entered.
Guy
Post a Comment
<< Home