Photo by Howard Owens
Darned that Mother Nature and her pesky nimbus clouds.
She defeated an otherwise seven-day streak to beat or at least match last year’s fair numbers with a dreary daylong onslaught of rain during the very last day.
“It was down only because that last Saturday, we were actually trending ahead. Up until Friday evening, it killed us. So we still figured about 63,000 people, down about 7,000 from the year before,” Ag Society treasurer Norm Pimm said Monday. “Our attendance, for, I think it's 13 straight years, it's been increasing. It has gone up basically double digits every year for the last 13 years. Until this year. So the crazy part is that we were still trying to do that, and Mother Nature didn't let us. All in all, a very, very good year, we look back to where we were, you know, 10 years ago from now. It's still unbelievable.
"The support we got from the community, attendance every day was up, which is really cool," he said. "Vendors all did very well. Food stands were all up over previous years. Midway was awesome.”
Saturday’s downpour meant an 80 percent drop in attendance on Saturday, he said, and the popular Enduro race was canceled. With soaring temperatures for the rest of the week, attendance also dipped a bit during the day but caught up with more people visiting later on, he said.
For the first time in fair history, there was a cooling trailer set up by Turnbull Heating and Cooling, which was a nice added bonus for those seeking some relief from the heat, Pimm said.
Records were still broken with the largest draught horse show of 11 six-horse hitch teams from across the country and Canada, for a total of about 125 horses in the show; 2,000 animals on the fairgrounds for an assortment of livestock, draught, and auction events; and 74 cars attending the demolition derby — “the most we’ve had in 20 years,” Pimm said.
There were 72 vendors, including those with food throughout the grounds — only two each of the same type of foods are allowed — and vendors inside the Exhibition building. That was a 25 percent increase from last year, he said.
It has gotten a little easier to attract those vendors than in times past, he said.
“If you look back, you know, 15 years ago, when our attendance wasn't very strong, it was hard to actually attract vendors to come to our fair, and now the vendors that we have, they're signing up before that previous year's done for them,” he said. “And then we're getting a lot more phone calls from vendors wanting to come into our fair every year because, again, word of mouth. Those vendors travel together and go from fair to fair, carnival to carnival, show to show, and I think the word spreads, you know, we did a really nice job at Genesee County, so then the next year, people want to be in on it.
“Because of our community and community support we've been receiving and the growth that we've seen, it's turning into a really nice fair that people want to go to.”
The livestock auction yielded more than 200 lots and brought in nearly $340,000, an increase of $20,000 from 2022’s record year. Local sponsorships were up, meaning businesses and organizations stepped up to help support the fair, including Bruce Scofield of Stafford, who provided trash pickup at 6 a.m. each morning to ensure a well-maintained and clean fairground, Pimm said.
“We got a lot of comments about how clean our fairgrounds stayed throughout the week,” he said.
Volunteers also do more than their part — from picking up litter and working the admission booth to cooking and helping at the animal stalls. There were about 100 throughout the week, he said, including kids and adults who would just show up some days and offer their assistance.
“I think a lot of the times I don't think the community realizes that everybody there is a volunteer, there's not one person paid to help put on that fair,” he said.
There are 20 folks on the Ag Society board, and “we could not put on that fair with 20 people.” They’ll all be gathering for a volunteer appreciation dinner. “It’s just a giant thank you for people who came to volunteer their time throughout the week, so we invite them to the dinner,” he said.
The board is “always open to suggestions.”
“We take notes, and when we meet, we will go over suggestions. We’re definitely going to be adding back the Enduro race. I had a ton of emails and Facebook messages and phone calls asking, are you running?” he said. “We will run that and the demolition derby again. Maybe have a couple of new bands, and some during the day, and have some daytime entertainment.”
There will be a rain date set for the Enduro, probably in September, he said. That will be publicized once it is finalized with the speedway. But then again, there’s always something to think about when it comes to the fair and the grounds out on East Main Street, he said.
“So as far as the people, the workers and all that you know, it's a lot of time all year round that we invest in keeping that for the community so the community has something to enjoy. We run the fairgrounds all year round, whether it's during the wintertime putting storage in, or fall putting storage in, and spring getting storage back out, we'd run a bunch of horse shows there, we rent the grounds out … and we generally will operate our food stands to try and generate some revenue. And mowing the lawn, doing weed eating, we’ll be able to recruit people who come in and help with that, so it doesn't weigh on us,” he said. “But in the grand scheme of things, you want to make sure that place is viable for future generations to enjoy and, specifically, the kids coming in having a really good time, they're running around having fun, going on the rides, seeing the animals, being able to pet the animals and get up close to the animals, or even going into the showroom themselves. And when we do stuff like that, you just see the kids light up, you know, and how much fun and how much excitement they have.”
Plans have already been percolating for next year, he said. Actually, “We already started a few weeks ago,” he said. We try to make it a little bit better each year.”
“Next year, we're gonna ask Mother Nature to cooperate a little bit better. 75 and sunny,” he said.
