Holmes fair board encourages public to enjoy some fair food
While the Holmes County Fair may not have many of its big drawing cards this year, the food vendors will be there in full force. The fair board is encouraging people to enter the fair free this year and purchase fair food to support this critical time during the vendors’ year.
For the better part of four months, Holmes County people have shown a true willingness to help support local restaurants by dining locally.
Now the Holmes County Fair Board is hoping the local community will do the same for its food vendors.
With the Holmes County Fair canceling many of its venues including all grandstand events, rides and shows, the fair will take on a decidedly different look this year. Now a junior fair only, it will be an opportunity for the 4-H kids, but because of the limited venues, the fair board decided to provide free entry to everyone throughout the week.
One part of the fair that remains is the food vendors, and according to Holmes County Fair Board President Kerry Taylor, the free entry provides a golden opportunity for visitors to get their fill of fair food, something that should be inviting because patrons will save a bunch of money without having to pay an entry fee to get in.
“We will have a great line-up of 20 vendors who have remained committed to providing plenty of options of fair food, and we invite everyone to stop in at the fair, come in, and they can eat at the fair or get it to go, but this fair is a big source of income for many of these vendors, and their losses would be staggering if we don’t commit to supporting them,” Taylor said.
Taylor said the board is adding picnic tables throughout the fairgrounds, allowing people to eat there or in the park pavilion. He said Saturday alone should provide ample opportunity to enjoy all of that delicious fair food.
“We basically don’t have any activities scheduled for Saturday afternoon, so we will open up the grounds for people to actually drive right into the midway, park and order food,” Taylor said. “Our vendors have really been amazing in sticking with us, and we would love for everyone to support them.”
Taylor said not only have the food vendors been understanding and committed, but so too have the many sponsors who support the fair each year. He said the Holmes County Fair has more than 70 corporate sponsors, and the vast majority of them opted to continue their financial support despite being offered refunds by the board.
“Most of them told us to keep their money and put it toward the junior fair,” Taylor said. “There is no revenue for us putting on the junior fair like there is with rides, grandstands and commercial exhibitors, so that has been very encouraging, knowing that the community is going to step up like that to support the kids. Even the majority of the commercial vendors advised us to keep the money they had committed.”
Taylor said the board would fully understand if commercial or corporate sponsors wanted to pull their funding for this year’s fair in a time when the economy has been so uncertain due to the pandemic, but that simply hasn’t happened.
“We applaud all of our supports,” Taylor said. “They have shown just how much they care about our kids and the fair.”
Taylor said the commitment they have received from the area meat-processing businesses involved with the junior fair also has been inspiring. With local meat-processing businesses extremely busy, Sugar Valley Meats, Stan’s Meats, Shreve Meats, Canaan Meats and Pleasant Valley Poultry continued to support the fair by providing processing time specifically for the fair animals. Taylor said that is a huge contribution to the fair’s ongoing success and is extremely generous.
“What we are seeing is a community commitment,” Taylor said. “It’s all about being part of serving the people around you, and we as a 4-H community appreciate that very much,” Taylor said.
Taylor went on to note that the board has heard from other junior fairs in the state that 4-Hers involved in the junior fair livestock shows have been heavily supported, and Taylor doesn’t expect that to be any different in Holmes County, where sale prices have always been higher than the norm.
Whether it is to support the kids at the auction or the food vendors who have stuck with the fair, there are still plenty of ways for the community to support the 4-H program while having fun at the fair.