WATERTOWN — With favorable weather and a free gate, Jefferson County Fair officials celebrated the event’s bicentennial in style.
“We’re probably going to be up 10,000 people for the week,” said Robert D. Simpson, president of the Jefferson County Agricultural Society, which organizes the fair.
This year’s fair began July 11 and concluded Sunday.
Mr. Simpson on Sunday afternoon said that while the final-day crowd appeared a little smaller compared to last year, the rest of the week more than made up for it.
“Everything has gone well,” he said. “We really haven’t had any major issues.”
Mr. Simpson, the society’s president for 18 years, said the society has been trying to offer free admission for years, and a major sponsorship deal with FX Caprara Ram Trucks allowed it to happen for the fair’s 200th year.
That seemed to encourage more people to come out, and officials hope to be able to continue that policy in coming years, he said, thanking FX Caprara and other sponsors for their financial support.
Daughtry performed Friday night as part of the Disabled Persons Action Organization’s summer concert series, and more than 3,000 people were in attendance, Mr. Simpson said.
However, the crowd at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds on Saturday night was even larger, even though the demolition derby itself drew roughly 750 people, he said.
Saturday being Military Appreciation Day likely boosted attendance, and that was also simply “a gorgeous day” for people to visit the fair, Mr. Simpson said.
Other than some showers around 9:30 one evening, rain during the week came overnight when the fair was closed, he said.
Early Saturday downpours did create some concern about track conditions for the demolition derby, but sunny weather throughout the day dried it off sufficiently, Mr. Simpson said.
“We probably had one of the best tracks we’ve ever had,” he said.
Reithoffer Shows returned this year with 21 carnival rides, and Mr. Simpson said Reithoffer continues to be a “great partner” with fair officials. “Reithoffer Shows have been here 67 years, and we hope that (partnership) never changes,” he said.
The carnival company sells wristbands that offer customers unlimited access to rides for the entire day, not just for certain hours as at many other fairs, and is willing to try new things, Mr. Simpson said.
On Thursday, it offered an “Old Fashioned Dollar Day,” in which fairgoers were able to buy sheets of 10 ride tickets for $10.
Mr. Simpson said it was a very successful venture, and “we’ll definitely be doing the dollar day again next year.”
He also noted that the annual fair is a “big boost to the economy,” as the carnival company and food vendors shop at local stores and utilize services like tire and refrigeration repair and diesel fuel delivery.
With the bump in attendance, Mr. Simpson said this year’s fair is looking like a success but cautioned that “you never know til the end of the year when you get the bills.”
Fair officials did have a couple of years when the event didn’t make enough money to cover expenses, he said.
While difficult, that forced fair directors to make some beneficial changes that may not have been made otherwise, Mr. Simpson said.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.
Fair officials Sunday were “already working on next year’s fair” by getting some food vendor contracts signed and doing other preparatory work but will enjoy the downtime that comes with completion of the annual event, Mr. Simpson said.
“People say to me, ‘What are you going to do next week?’” he said. “I say, ‘We’re going to rest up and go to the Lewis County Fair.’”
That fair, in Lowville, is scheduled Tuesday through Saturday this week.