Photo by Joanne Beck
After a flurry of eight days that accommodated 1,800 animals big and small, more than 120 draft horses and another record-breaking crowd, Genesee County Agricultural Society members are pretty satisfied -- and relieved -- with another job well done, Treasurer Norm Pimm says.
This year’s county fair meant hundreds of volunteer hours and much literal sweat due to hot and humid weather throughout the fourth week of July, and the payoff was huge as the event drew more than 72,000 people — more than the largest number from two years ago, Pimm said.
“It was good throughout our last Saturday of the fair; that’s what put us over the edge. And we by far had our busiest closing day of the fair,” he told The Batavian on Friday. “So two years ago, we had just hit 70,000. I think a lot of things (influenced attendance); we spent a lot of time and money advertising the fair, obviously, with all the mobile advertising, like (The Batavian); you guys are awesome, huge supporters of us. And then we did a lot with (social media) and all that.
“And then you guys went live a lot from our fair, which again, that creates buzz, right? So I think just sort of targeting the advertisement. And then we also brought a couple different acts in, like the closing band, Nerds Gone Wild; that might have been our biggest band we’ve ever had, at least in several years. They absolutely packed the entertainment tent. And then all of the other bands that we had throughout the week, BB Dang, the Eaglez, Knight Patrol, all put big crowds under the tent as well. We had the normal demolition derby, but that was absolutely packed in there; we figured about 2,500 people. And then on Wednesday, we did the Enduro race.”
Organizers worked hard to make the fair family-friendly for the types of entertainment and costs, he said, so that Enduro was a $5 entry fee, which pulled in 500 to 600 people.
They had a screaming diesel truck event and were hoping that “if we could get 1,000 people in there, we’d be very happy,” he said. “But we had about 1,500 people in the grandstands for that, so we exceeded our expectations as well.”
“That’s the first time we’ve had that. And then I think there’s all the events that have been over the last couple of years continue to get bigger," he said. "The draft horse show on opening weekend, that’s huge, the stockyard classic, which is a livestock show that we had the first weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, that continues to grow as the second year we’ve done it. And then all our 4-H youth programs. I mean, they continue to grow as well.”
The market animal auction had nearly 230 lots up for auction, for a total intake of $325,000. Business sponsorships continue to grow, including both financial help and loaning out employees to volunteer at the fair, such as when Liberty Pumps sent out nine staff members to pitch in at the food stand, ticket booth and other areas where core volunteers needed a break, Pimm said.
Cornell Cooperative Extension board members, parents, community members and kids also stepped up to volunteer, he said. Genesee County legislators manned the Chuck Wagon again after walking the parade. East Bethany brought an ambulance on standby, and the South Byron Volunteer Fire Department came to help out. Scofield Transfer & Recycling was there every day, and others helped out with services and hands-on labor periodically, he said.
“That gives us a little bit of a break because, you know, that's one of the things people might forget is that we're 100 percent volunteers, right? We have volunteers putting in well over 100 hours that week just to keep the fire going. (Many of those people) show up and they’d be like, ‘hey, what do you want me to do?’ And that's awesome when you get that kind of support because they're gonna get some of us a little bit of a break,” he said. “And this year, more than ever, I saw a lot more than a couple of local businesses that sent employees to volunteer on their dime, but they basically, they paid them for the day, and then they had them come volunteer.”
Is it time to sit down and relax? Hardly. Pimm is already on the phone about next year. Organizers liked all of the entertainment, but they also want to mix things up, so they’re looking at different bands and “probably will change up a couple” for fair 2025.
They don’t have a big pool of midway companies to choose from since there are only a few in circulation, and those get locked in early. Hammerl Amusements has been a popular one, he said, which is what is used at Genesee County Fair. The only glitch has been that they book from Tuesday to Saturday, which leaves out one weekend of the fair, but organizers filled the gap this year with several bounce houses offered for free. That seemed to be a popular attraction — “it was absolutely packed” — and will be repeated with possibly more features next year, Pimm said.
Power Wheels was another keeper that will return, and organizers are looking to add a utility task vehicle (UTV) side-by-side event, an I Got It! and/or corn hole tournaments to the lineup.
“We’re looking to offer lower-priced entertainment at the grandstand area all week so families can come and enjoy the fair,” he said. We know it's a tough time financially for families, but we want to make sure that they can have a good time without spending a lot of money.”
The other part of using all of the amenities on the fairgrounds is maintaining them, and the Ag Society has invested “a couple hundred thousand dollars” on electrical upgrades, with about another $150,000 to $200,000 to go for those improvements, and then rebuilding the food stand, originally constructed in the 1960s and known as the Chuck Wagon, sometime in the near future, he said.
Other work is needed at the horse barns and related facilities, and all of it is an investment into the future, he said.
Many people don’t know that the fairgrounds are certainly alive during more than those eight days of the fair, as events happen in spring, summer and fall, with food truck rodeos being an ever-growing fundraiser on Friday evenings. There are some dozen food trucks at the fairgrounds, 5056 E. Main Road, Batavia, from 4 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 23 and Sept. 13 for this season.
Pimm said everything they do is reinvested to keep the grounds and facilities as well maintained as possible for community events. He’s happy that Mother Nature cooperated for this year’s fair and looks forward to an even bigger event in 2025.
"Overall, it was an absolute, big success. We continue to find ways to grow it and make it even better,” he said. “And we couldn't have done any of this without a local community coming out, to check out all the exhibits and all the animals and vendors and everything like that, and supporting them, and then all of our volunteers. No way we’d have done it without a ton of volunteers.
"And then overall, I’ve gotta go back to the local businesses that help support us, whether it's financially or selling advertising, and all the advertisements and all that. It was just unbelievable.”
Fair photos below by Howard Owens
