Dan Martin, president of the Butler County Fair Board and president of the Ohio Fair Manager’s Association, said running a county fair these days can be a tough business. He said a couple of fairs in northern Ohio weren’t sure at the beginning of the year if they’d be in operation due to funding cuts and the economy.
“It’s getting more and more costly every year to put on a county fair,” Martin said. “Expenses continue to go up, unemployment is up and in some places people just don’t have the money to go.”
Of Ohio’s 88 counties, 87 of them have a fair, according to the Ohio Fair Manager’s Association. In addition, there are seven independent fairs in the state. Licking County does not have a county fair but there is an independent fair in Hartford in early August.
County and state fairs are among the great American traditions, fair officials said, where young farmers can parade animals they’ve raised and others can display their quilts and crafts or show off the cakes they’ve decorated.
Martin said he is optimistic about the future of county fairs, but added it’s possible that some struggling fairs could merge with others in the next five or so years, forming larger, regional fairs.
“Something like that could be 10 years away or it could happen next year,” he said. “I think there will always be a county fair as long as there’s money in the bank and they’re in the black.”
In 2010, the Butler County Fair had its best attendance in the past five years, drawing 96,164 visitors. That was roughly 7,000 more people than the previous year.
Martin said Butler is a populous county that retains its rural character, which helps the fair. He also said the fair board runs a tight ship.
“Entertainment dollars are getting tighter and you have to mind your P’s and Q’s and offer the best bang for the buck,” he said.
Annual attendance over the past five years at the Warren County Fair averaged about 44,842 for the week or about 7,474 visitors a day.
“We just keep plugging away at it,” said Tari Maddox, Warren County Fair secretary. “We’re doing OK and we’re able to make a little money from the fair.”
Maddox said a key reason for the fair’s success is the strong relationship between the Senior Fair and the Junior Fair/4-H program.
This year, the fair will have 1,007 4-H participants exhibiting various projects.
“We have a lot of parents and grandparents who used to be 4-H members and they come back to see their children and grandchildren exhibits,” Maddox said.
“We still feel blessed that kids are still interested in the fair and they still think it’s cool to be in it,” she said.
Martin agreed a strong 4-H and Junior Fair program is a key to a successful fair.
“It’s something that people look forward to each year,” Martin said. “It’s something that everyone is involved in.”
This year, he said about 1,400 4-H youth will be participating in the Junior Fair.
Over the past five years, fair attendance averaged about 89,913 visitors for the week or just under 15,000 a day.
In light of the economy and rising gas prices, he believes having a diverse selection of entertainment and activities are why the fair is popular.
Relationships matter
Martin and Maddox cited strong 4-H and Junior Fair programs and relationships were keys to their fairs success. But that’s not always the case.
In Hamilton County, 4-H opted to hold its own fair.
Last week, the county’s first 4-H Community Fair debuted at Stricker’s Grove in Crosby Twp.
Tonya Horvath, the county’s extension director and 4-H youth development educator, said her board discussed their options and started discussions last September.
“We were looking for a different venue with more of a family and community focus,” she said. “The location in Carthage was more of an urban setting. The partnership with Stricker’s Grove allowed us to have a more rural setting. It had more land to expand and it was more viable.”
While final attendance numbers were unavailable, Horvath said, “we had a great turnout.”
Pat Ekardt, county Agricultural Society president, said they were “blindsided” last October when informed that 4-H was starting its own fair.
“There were no talks or discussions with us,” he said. “I thought the whole idea of 4-H was to support the fair. I don’t think it’s good for a county to have two county fairs because you’re not getting the support you’d normally have.”
Ekardt said he’s not sure how it will affect the 156th Hamilton County Fair next month.
Holding their own
In Lorain County, the fair continues to sustain itself, said Rick Ternes, county Agricultural Society president.
“In comparison to other counties around us, we’ve been able to show a profit,” he said.
Ternes said the economy has taken its toll on the fair.
“People don’t have the money to spend like to they used to and exhibitors are watching their expenses,” he said. In Cuyahoga County, the weather is the fair’s ‘enemy,’ ” said Dave Stephan, county Fair Board president.
He said the fair used to average about 175,000 visitors. Fair attendance last year was 145,000 and Stephan said their goal this year is 200,000.
“We’re not completely struggling,” he said. “We don’t feel that it’s all doom and gloom. We’re looking at it as a work in progress.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4504 or erichter@coxohio.com.
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