The state’s oldest agricultural fair is turning 97, but it won’t have a carnival this year.
On a social media post, the Bland County Fair, which had been busily fundraising to bring in carnival rides, announced that board members voted to go forward without a carnival, saying that the only carnival willing to come to Bland had just one week available, which happened to coincide with the same week as the July 4-H camp.
The board voted to keep the fair at the end of the August.
The post noted that several carnivals had been contacted over the past two years.
“Many will not even respond,” the fair posted, “all but the one that responded wouldn’t agree to come.”
The post went on to say that 4-H is a big part of the fair and it would be difficult to hold the fair without 4-H selling food, helping with exhibits and participating in the livestock show.
In addition, the post said that in July, there wouldn’t be much in the way of produce for people to enter into the fair.
A carnival costs $25,000, officials said, and booking it would require the fair to take out a $12,500 loan for a down payment.
Officials said in the post that last year the fair cost more than $10,000 and the horse show, held two weeks later, cost $7,000. The post said that the fair generally always loses money, but a portion is made up by the horse show.
The post pointed out that the last time a carnival was hired, it made around $12,000, leaving the fair to cover the remaining $3,000. In today’s dollars, that number could jump to a gap of $13,000.
