Earlier this year, Governor Cuomo announced the awarding of $5 million to county and youth fairs across the state through the Agricultural Fairgrounds Infrastructure Improvement Program. Fifty-six local fairs can receive more than $89,000 each through the program to help with the cost of improvement and renovation projects including new construction.
This is the first time in nearly a decade that the state’s more than four dozen local fairs will receive critical infrastructure improvement funds, the Governor’s office said.
The Monroe County Fair & Recreation Association has not yet decided how they will use the funds, says Eileen Voak. Voak works in the Fair & Recreation Association office and explains that the search is underway to find a new location for the fair, which has been held most recently at Northampton Park.
“The new location for the fair has not been decided yet,” Voak says. She explains that the Fair Association is currently considering a couple of potential sites. The dates of the 2017 fair have been tentatively set for July 28 through 30, about one week earlier than usual.
Because the new location has not been chosen, Voak says no decision has been made about how to utilize the funds from the Infrastructure Improvement Program. Once a site has been chosen, the decision will likely be made, she adds.
Similarly in Genesee County, members of the Genesee County Agricultural Society, Inc. have made no decision on how to spend the funds. “We are coming up with ideas and seeing what (the program) will allow us to do,” Agricultural Society President Scott Adams says. “We are looking forward to deciding on the best usage of the money.”
The Agricultural Society had their next meeting planned for March 1, Adams says. The Genesee County Fair will be held July 17 through 22, at the fairgrounds on Route 5 (5056 East Main Road) in Batavia.
In Orleans County, 4-H educator Robert Batt says the Orleans County 4-H Fair expects to receive $96,000 in funds through the program, most of which will be used to upgrade a performance stage at the Curtis Pavilion.
Currently, a temporary stage is set up each year with a large tent for performances, competitions and concerts, but constructing a new performance stage at the Curtis Pavilion would save the $2,000 Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension spends each year on the temporary set up, Batt says.
During the 4-H Fair in July, the new stage would be used for dance competitions, bands and additional activities and could serve as an outdoor classroom for the Master Gardener program and agricultural specialists at other times, Batt says. The new stage proposed for the pavilion would be 40-feet wide by 30-feet deep, he says.
“The completion of the new stage project would turn the Curtis Pavilion into a better resource for the county,” Batt explains. “Our hope is that it can serve as a venue for performances throughout the spring, summer and fall as well as allowing our own program to utilize the area as an outdoor classroom.”
Additionally, private dressing rooms attached to the stage will, “Help solve a longstanding problem of not having a private place for participants in the talent show or the local talent showcase to change into costumes or prepare equipment,” Batt says.
The Orleans County 4-H Fair will take place July 24 through 29, at the Orleans County 4-H Fairgrounds, Route 31 Knowlesville, just west of Albion.
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball says many of the state’s local fairs have been struggling for years to make necessary improvements to stay up-to-date and attractive to visitors. “This funding will help mitigate those challenges and provide better opportunities to spotlight the state’s diverse and exceptional agricultural community,” Ball says.
