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Published Sunday, November 01, 2009 in Local

Economy, rain cut into fair profits

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Times-Herald

A bad economy and rainy weather cut deeply into the profits of the 2009 Coweta County Fair.

Gate receipts were down 40 percent from last year, said Scott Cortner, fair committee chairman for the Newnan Kiwanis Club, which puts on the annual event.

The club takes the money it makes each year and distributes it to local non-profit organizations. This year, those groups won't be getting quite as much.

Typically, the club is able to give out between $140,000 and $160,000 to approximately 30 organizations.

This year, the club plans to distribute $100,000.

"We actually dipped into our reserve fund to get it to the level that it is," said Cortner. "We did not want to see a bigger impact on the community."

The monetary awards are planned to be given out during two Newnan Kiwanis Club meetings in November.

The reduction in funds "is going to have an impact on their budgets. We know that it has been a tough time," Cortner said. "People are not giving as much and, unfortunately, because of the bad weather, we're not going to be able to support [nonprofits] as much as we would like to."

Because of the heavy rain, the club, Coweta County, and Belle City Amusements made the unprecedented decision to cancel two nights of the 10-day fair. And even when the fair was open, it was cold, wet and muddy.

"On both Saturdays, the weather was pretty bad," Cortner said.

Also down was the number of entries in the arts and crafts, horticulture, and agriculture competitions. No one is sure why there were fewer arts and crafts entries. The date of the fair, three weeks later than usual, probably had a lot to do with the reduction in entries in vegetables and flowers competitions.

The later fair date also made things a little tougher for Coweta's 4-H'ers. Coweta's fair was held on the same dates as the Georgia National Fair in Perry, which meant many of the 4-H'ers who show animals were in Perry instead of Newnan.

Prices for individual ride tickets were up 25 percent this year; some midway games were also more expensive. But Cortner doesn't think that really had an impact on attendance.

Dollar Night, held on the opening night of the fair, was a great success. Admission was just $1, as were the rides. Cortner said he heard a lot of comments about dollar night. "More than one family said they wouldn't have been able to come if it wasn't for dollar night," Cortner said. The club is discussing the future of dollar night with Belle City. "It may go to $2 night," Cortner said.

The fair was scheduled later this year because Belle City Amusements had merged with another company. That company was already committed to a fair the third week in September, so the Kiwanis Club agreed to the later fair date.

Organizers hope to return the fair to September in 2010. "We're still negotiating with Belle City ... we are in the negotiating stages for a new contract with them. There are a number of issues that we're still working on," Cortner said.

In addition to the rides, the Kiwanis Club brought in several new entertaining acts this year, including chainsaw wood carvers.

"This year we had four acts. Next year, it might only be two or three," Cortner said. "We think that is a great family thing. If you paid $5 to get in, you can see some great shows and never spend another dime," he said.

The later fair date did come with a silver lining -- several new rides from the new amusement company.

"People were thrilled with the new rides and the quality of those rides," Cortner said, especially the giant Ferris wheel.

"We just thank everybody that did come out for supporting us, and thank our sponsors," Cortner said. "Hopefully next year will be much better."

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