Fair board chairman Curtiss Hunter said that over the past several years many county fairs in the Upstate have closed, in many cases because the land the fairs were held on was not owned by the county. She said this happened in Anderson County, whose fair closed when the owner of the property, Anderson College, took it back.
Mrs. Hunter said this is not a problem locally because the fairgrounds are owned by the county. With all other county fairs closed except for Spartanburg’s, this presents Union County with the opportunity to turn its fair into a regional event.
“The opportunities are there,” she said. “We’re not happy that the others closed but we want to turn it into something positive. It seems like a great opportunity to attract larger numbers of people from other counties.”
To take advantage of that opportunity, the board is asking for suggestions about how to make the fair more appealing. Mrs. Hunter pointed out that the fair has grown over the past four years and last year attracted a large number of visitors from a number of surrounding communities including Spartanburg, Newberry and Gaffney. The next step is to expand the fair into a regional event that will attract more visitors as well as participants from other counties.
“We’re open to suggestions, we’re open to public opinion, we want feedback,” she said. “The fair has grown in the past four years but it can get a lot bigger and that means more money coming into Union County.”
Interim director Robert Garner pointed out that a variety of local businesses could benefit from increased attendance and participation in the fair.
“We’re trying to reach out to the surrounding counties,” he said. “We want to encourage them to participate in all aspects of the fair such as animal and farm exhibits.
“People from other counties who attend the fair will not only spend money at the fair but also at convenience stores, restaurants and even grocery stores,” he said. “Then there’s the people who will be working the fair. They’ll stay in motels, buy diesel fuel for their trucks and generators, buy groceries. If they need lumber or hardware for their rides and displays they’ll buy it here.”
One idea the board is considering is a second school day during fair week, board member Angela Worthy said. School day is designed to attract children to the fair and is usually held on Friday. Mrs. Worthy said the idea would be to continue Friday as school day for children from Union County, but add a second one, possibly on Saturday, for children from other counties.
The fair is a five-day event, but Garner said it could be lengthened to seven days. He added that while the fairgrounds are owned by the county, the fair itself is a self-supporting institution that doesn’t take taxpayer funding.
“We are totally self-supporting,” he said. “We operate off of what we make year-to-year. No tax money is involved. We spend the money we make where we make it, here in Union County.”
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Anyone with suggestions for improving the fair is asked to call 427-7038.
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