Fair board looks at food, advertising | News
3 min read
AUGUSTA — The Hampshire County Truthful Board very last week heard new suggestions to “grow the fair” from Hampshire County Conference and Guests Bureau Govt Director Tina Ladd.
Ladd told the board that the CVB is pushing agritourism, and finds people want to know where by their food items arrives from.
“Also, county fairs stand for a throwback way of lifestyle that is stylish suitable now,” she added, and this is assisting Hampshire County entice a large amount of site visitors. She described that the county’s 37 AirBnBs were “‘packed” with attendees in 2020 and 2021.
This year the CVB will promote the honest by distributing rack playing cards to rest stops all in excess of West Virginia and to other tourism places of work — and they have larger ideas for subsequent calendar year.
The CVB has hired a videographer to file occasions on Thursday at this year’s reasonable, commencing with the early morning judging of farm animals and continuing by the parade and the evening’s pursuits, to create footage set to songs for shorter promotion places upcoming yr.
This year’s honest is 4 months absent, and good board programs for amusement are even now in development, with 1 new advancement.
Sandy Duncan declared that county singer Dawn Rix will complete Saturday night time. Initially from Inwood, Rix was a choose in past year’s queen contest even though putting out a CD in Nashville, in which she now lives.
The board does its best to hold prices down, with good board Chairman Duane “Punkin” Oates pointing out, “we’re a nonprofit and any dollars still left more than goes back again into the community” — divided amongst the Ruritan clubs providing the unpaid volunteers staffing the foods services. The golf equipment use the revenue for scholarships and group initiatives.
Oates reported chatting with Coca-Cola and expects to get the rate of sodas again down to $2 this calendar year, however the dimension of the sodas may lower from 20 to 16 ounces.
The ice cream stand will be back again, and the Hampshire Significant team that bought frozen lemonade 2 yrs ago will return to the good this calendar year.
Oates described Paul Lewis thinks they could not have to increase selling prices in the snack bar, in spite of the impact of inflation.
Just one variable influencing snack bar rates will be the expense of hamburger. In earlier a long time, the L&M Current market has provided the hamburger for the fair, by now molded into patties, but they have mentioned they are unable to do so this year.
The truthful board would typically assume to devote above $4,000 shopping for 600-700 lbs . of hamburger to feed fairgoers for the 7 days. Oates approximated 600-800 lbs will be necessary this yr, and a new supplier need to be found.
He suggested just one probability may be purchasing a complete beef from a Hampshire County farm this 12 months, and owning it butchered, supporting regional farmers although maintaining costs beneath management and making positive the meat is of very good high-quality.
Presenting the strategy as “just a tiny food stuff for thought” to be talked over later, Oates observed the honest organizers “always delight ourselves on good meals — refreshing hamburger, never frozen.”
Promoting for the queen pageant experienced begun the 7 days right before the board assembly, with 1 contestant previously signed up and many others claimed to be fascinated. The 1st ad for the junior pageant appeared, and pageant organizers ended up hopeful that they would see additional contestants this year.
Ads for the marketing signs lining the fair fences experienced appeared for 2 months, and Linda and Gary Riggleman are getting the phrase out that the Ruritans are charging corporations $50 a calendar year for the signs, replenishing the honest fence fund that protected the $1,750 cost of a new sliding gate last yr.
Oates is acquiring a new announcer’s stand produced on a hay wagon, so it can be relocated as required, and promised to have do the job completed on the stage in the middle of the fairgrounds in planning for this year’s occasions.