November 14, 2014 at 4:12 p.m.
Open forum Tuesday to discuss ways to save Oneida County Fair
Open forum Tuesday to discuss ways to save Oneida County Fair
By Kayla Thomason-
An Oneida County Fair Strategic Planning Session will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Quality Inn in Rhinelander. The session will be an open forum where the public can offer input on how to make the event self-sufficient.
The fair is having difficulty attracting more volunteers and making money, organizers say.
In 2009, the fair moved to Pioneer Park and the county contributed to $25,000 to help stage the event. Since that time the county's contributions have been decreasing, according to Lynn Feldman, strategic planning facilitator for the planning session.
The county's 2015 contribution had been projected at $10,000 but during the county budget meeting Nov. 12 the fair's full funding request of $14,000 was restored.
"This doesn't mean that the fair is sustainable for years to come," Feldman said. "A leftover balance of approximately $3,000 from the 2014 fair's budget doesn't provide the money necessary to begin building infrastructure (buildings, electrical supply, etc.) for future fair programming ideas. It also doesn't cover potential monetary setbacks if the weather isn't as perfect as it has been during the last couple of fair events or if there is a decline in sponsorships, vendors, or attendance. There is a need for citizen vision and commitment to the future of the Oneida County Fair."
It's important for people to understand that the fair is very successful but must continue to evolve, Feldman said.
Over the past six years the number of people attending the fair has increased. Approximately 18,000 and 20,000 visitors have walked through the gates over the last few years.
"[Having high attendance] is all great and positive but in order to continue keeping [the fair] going we definitely need the support of the city, county and the community both in sponsorship and volunteers," said fair coordinator Nancy Gehrig. "The fair could cease to exist if we don't have the support from the community."
Sponsorships help pay for bands and events that are held at the fair.
"[The fair committee] really need[s] public input on this," Feldman added. "They know that the fair is popular, a lot of people attend the fair, but where does the public want to see this go?"
The fair board looked to organizers of sustainable fairs to get ideas that could be implemented here.
"A lot of those fairs have been in existence for a long time and they have infrastructure, they have big fairgrounds, in fact we're one of the very few that have it in a small area that we do," Gehrig said.
Infrastructure will be discussed during the upcoming meeting.
"Without a fairground and fair buildings it's going to make [becoming sustainable] very, very challenging," Feldman said.
Some of those fairs - including Oneida's - are free to the community but that presents another challenge.
Free fairs have to find other ways to bring in revenue.
The McNaughton Correctional Center built three donation boxes that were available at the 2014 Oneida County Fair.
It is Gehrig's hope that enough donations will be received to keep the fair free to the public.
"The plan is, what we would like is to stay in the area of Pioneer Park Historical Complex," Gehrig said."We'd like to do it for like a five-year plan because it is a great location for the community."
One way to bring in revenue is to charge admittance but that isn't feasible at Pioneer Park.
Another issue is scheduling. The summer is loaded with events and activities and some people have to choose which to attend.
Gehrig said up until this past year events in other communities didn't have a huge impact on fair attendance.
The Marathon County Fair was held at the same time as was the Lincoln County Fair. There were also four class reunions, Pig in the Pines and two other events.
"We've competed with the Pig in the Pines all the years I've been involved with the fair so that really hasn't made a big impact on it at all," Gehrig said.
The public is encouraged to come to the Nov. 18 meeting to discuss the future of the fair.
"I'm hoping definitely that the community does come forward and our biggest question was wanting to know if the community is willing to support the fair with funding - which is sponsorship - and volunteerism," Gehrig said.
Approximately 150 to 200 community leaders have been invited to attend the meeting.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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