Fair organizers pleased with one-price admission
With the advent of one-price admission that covers all events and attractions at the Fayette County Fair, officials warned that seating for shows in the Outdoor Arena would be first-come, first-served. But Sunday afternoon, fair board treasurer John Blaney said staff had no trouble accommodating the patrons who appeared for shows the first three nights of the fair.
“So far, we’ve had no problems with over crowding in the arena,’ said Blaney.
Those shows included the opening night demolition derby, Friday’s 4×4 truck mud races and Saturday’s dead weight tractor pulling contest. Blaney said there are seats for about 3,500 people in the Outdoor Arena.
As crews under J.P. Bunting of Action Oil (a former racer) worked to build the track in the Outdoor Arena for Sunday’s motocross competition, Blaney anticipated an increase in the audience.
“Today is motocross and we’ll get quite the crowd,’ he said. “The practice starts about 4 o’clock and they’ll start pouring in.’
In addition, Blaney said officials are keeping their eyes on Wednesday’s Monster Truck show and the demolition derby set for Saturday, the last night of the fair.
“Those are our three biggest shows,’ Blaney said. “We’ll wait and see what happens.’
This year’s shows in the Outdoor Arena are regulars that have been done before.
“The shows the people like, we keep doing,’ said Blaney. “We try a few new things.’
For instance, mud races returned this year after being pulled last year for the Lonestar concert in the Outdoor Arena. This year’s mud races included 4-wheel quads with 4-wheel drive trucks.
The schedule for the rest of the week includes: stock semi and stock tri-axle truck pulls and ATPA East Coast Series super stock and pro-stock tractor pulls today, Croushore’s Championship Demolition Derby on Tuesday, Monster Trucks on Wednesday, Dave Martin’s Bullride Mania on Thursday, ATPA East Coast modified 4×4 and two-wheel drive truck pulls and street stock 4×4 truck pull on Friday and demolition derby on Saturday.
Blaney laughed when asked if there were any tips for people who wanted to make sure they get a seat for Outdoor Arena shows.
“We may have some trouble Wednesday for the 7 o’clock (Monster Truck) show. We won’t open the gate until about 5 o’clock or a little after. We’ll start letting people in here but one person can’t come and save 20 seats,’ Blaney said.
He noted that people who arrive on the grounds before 4 p.m. can also save money by buying admission for $6 instead of $8.
Blaney said that the use of one-price admission had “some little glitches that had to be worked out,’ including a big line at 6 p.m. when the fair opened last Thursday. Officials have worked out the problems.
Fair board members have also been pleased with the crowds for the first three days of the fair, and he noted that officials are making an effort hard to accommodate people.
“We try very much to be family oriented,’ he said. “We’re not just dealing with Mom and Dad. We’re dealing with Mom, Dad and the kids. The kids are the important part of it.’