‘Stay-cations’ help county fairs

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A sour economy failed to defeat the sweet lure of fried dough, country music, exploding cars and barnyard animals as attendance was up at most of the county fairs in the Capital Region this year, organizers said.

Both the Saratoga County Fair and the Schoharie County Sunshine Fair had more people walk through their gates this year from the year before. The Saratoga County Fair ran July 14-19, the Sunshine Fair, July 30 to Aug. 7.

The Altamont Fair took a hit, however, but that was more because of the weather than any other factor, said Marie McMillen, operations manager. The fair covers Albany, Schenectady and Greene counties and ran Aug. 11-16.

The county fair season in New York runs from late June through Labor Day. The Fonda Fair in Montgomery County ends Monday. An official for the fair did not return a call for comment on Friday.

Doug Cater, president of the Sunshine Fair board, said the 133rd annual event saw attendance up 26 percent and sponsorships up 58 percent during its nine-day run. This was the first year of the new schedule, which formerly was six days long. Last year’s attendance was 76,000.

“That is almost unheard of from a year ago, with the economy the way it is,” Cater said.

Kevin Grupe, general manager for the Saratoga County Fair, said this year’s fair was one of the best in 20 years. The fair is in its 168th season.

“Gate admissions were and revenues up. The carnival did well and vendors said they did well,” he said.

Neither Grupe nor Cater had revenue figures available, saying they are still sorting out bills. Both men attributed the robust attendance figures to the economy. “This year, people stayed closer to home,” Cater said.

Good weather also helped. “One of the things that will kill a fair quicker than anything is heat,” Grupe said. “Weather is one of the biggest factors over which we have no control.”

McMillen said attendance during the first days of the Altamont Fair was good but dropped dramatically during the Aug. 15-16 weekend due to a heat wave. “People don’t come out when it is hot, and our numbers were down by about 15,000 people,” she said. The fair usually attracts 89,000 people.

McMillen said the fair, now in its 126th year, will move beyond the setback. “We made less money than last year, but we’re still here and planning next year’s fair. We have rode through a lot of hard times,” she said.

Charlie Belknap, of Powers Great American Midways, said the economy has actually helped the carnival industry. Powers provides rides, entertainment, food and games to about 30 fairs and events annually along the Eastern Seaboard. It recently signed a three-year contract with the Sunshine Fair.

“We are seeing the same trend all the way up to New York,” Belknap said. “The reason is that people aren’t making long trips away from home and are spending their money locally. A family can come here and ride the rides together and have lunch and spend the day at the fair.”

Cater said a midway is important, but the heart of a county fair is agriculture. “That is the foundation of county fairs. Entertainment. Commercial exhibits. The overall picture. That makes it a success. You need a great variety, you need something from everyone. It has to be a nice family event,” he said.

The challenge, of course, said McMillen, “is to encourage people in a suburban setting to check out their county fair. In rural areas of state, they are well attended.”