State fairs' money, ownership issues raise concern that agricultural tradition might be at risk

In mid-May, Virginia's state fairgrounds were auctioned off to the highest bidder. The right to run the fair was sold to a for-profit firm, a trend becoming more popular as financially squeezed fairs look for ways to keep a tradition alive -- and agricultural interests worry about their future role. (Bob Brown photo)

Maggie Clark, staff writer for Stateline, the daily news service for the Pew Center for the States, reports that while the majority of state fairs are still government-operated, as "state budgets have shrunk, so have the fortunes of the historically revered state fair. The fairs have lost much of their government subsidy, while still having to cope with a significant amount of state regulation. But the fair’s new ownership has not come without controversy."

The Virginia fair's new owners are Tennessee-based Universal Fairs, which owns five other state fairs and festivals. Clark writes that Universal "isn’t very much interested in the animal exhibits, crop displays and crafts projects that have marked the fair since its inception. In transitioning to a for-profit model, the Virginia agricultural community is concerned that the new owners will abandon the scholarship offerings for youth in agriculture education programs like 4-H and Future Farmers of America. The already-promised scholarships will be given out this year; beyond that, nothing is guaranteed. The youth livestock competitions have been relocated from the state fair to the Rockingham County Fair in Harrisonburg, in north-central Virginia."

A similar situation has occurred in Georgia, where a two-fair system has been created. There, the Georgia State Fair also sold out to Universal Fairs but youth livestock competitions and arts and culture shows are run at the Georgia National Fair in Perry. Some think the latter fair is what matters. Jim Tucker, president and CEO of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions, told Clark that "wherever the agricultural community meets to identify the best livestock genetics or swap tips about how to make the best jams will be the home of the true state fair."