no one has posted anything about it? I guess it's as lame as it was last year? anyway, everybody come out thursday night for some good ole motocross action!
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no one has posted anything about it? I guess it's as lame as it was last year? anyway, everybody come out thursday night for some good ole motocross action!
I personally haven't cared much for it in the past few years. The rides are usually fairly lackluster (or too extreme for my panzy butt), the attractions are "meh", and overall I see more people spending their time standing around (or walking around) talking to their friends than anything else.
I don't plan on going this year..
I went and saw Sammy Kershaw last night. He was decent, I still would have rather had Ricochet or Blake comin back, but oh well.
Why did he give that speech at the end, somethin like if you don't like America then you can get out.
There's just something not attractive about riding rides put together by drunk carnies (some are anyhow), and eating carnie food....
I put in 5 entries in the photography contest.
I didn't want to pay $6 just to see how I did, so I had my sister check them out when she took her kids to kids day [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
I was hoping I'd get called to work at the fair so I could go look for myself... [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
If you've been once, you've been enough.
I will most likely be going tonight to watch the motorcross race and take my sister-in-law who has never been to anything like that.
Doug Kershaw was better... [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
went last night and had a good time, cyclops in the best ride there this year...
watched the sprint cars run around last night too
i always enjoyed wise county's finest walking around in their fishnet wife-beaters.
you gotta love the 13 year old girls with the 13 inchs of makeup on or the high school football players w/the sleeves rolled up starrin down other teams.
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I will most likely be going tonight to watch the motorcross race and take my sister-in-law who has never been to anything like that.
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You should hold off and go Saturday night. Phil Dirt & The Dozers. Good little band. I've seen them at least 6 or 7 times over the last 10-15 years.
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you gotta love the 13 year old girls with the 13 inchs of makeup on or the high school football players w/the sleeves rolled up starrin down other teams.
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That's one of the main reasons I don't like going.. plenty of goofy people, that's for sure, and a very disturbing atmosphere if I must say so myself.
It's the major Prep Gathering of all Prep Gatherings.
i haven't seen WISE COUNTY'S FINEST in fishnets,,,, EVER EVER,,, must be going at the wrong time,,, and in all my years of 'fair going',, i've never been on the first ride or played the first 'chance' game,, i usually walk around the midway one time and hang out around the grandtands,,,look at exhibits etc,,,
I went to the fair last year, mostly to just walk around & see the sights. Even I wasn't afraid of heights I wouldn't be getting on any of those rides. How many years ago was it that the Ferris Wheel got stuck?
Prior to that I hadn't been in maybe 2 dozen years.
Oops - I think I just aged myself! lol [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
NAW, not in the least, diaper years elpn,,,
If I was wearing diapers 2 dozen years ago I must have been horrible at potty training!
I was trying to be nice,, give you benefit of the doubt,, trying to let everyone know you are still a 'young-un'...ha
Aww now that was nice!
Points for you.
I think the last time I went it was my birthday and Dad won a stuffed Snoopy for me.
Citi Card points?? WOO HOO
We took our 10yr.old son yesterday on kid's day, I was surprised that there wasn't a bigger crowd. It has went down alot the past few years. I was told at work that next year the fair would be in June, there would also be better entertainment.
They are aiming for June - to dodge all the other local fairs and have less competition for quality entertainers.
They dont have any entertainment lined up yet - so there's no guarantee, but they're hoping to get "first dibs" per se.
This time of year you have the Appalachian Fair, the Dickenson County Fair, Va-Ky District Fair, Russell County Fair.
yes that is what I was told. I hope that they can do this, the fair really hasn't changed much since I was a child. Just another event that takes all my money so my child can play rip off games.
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If I was wearing diapers 2 dozen years ago I must have been horrible at potty training!
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I thought I saw you at Wal Mart with a package of Depends in your cart just a month or so ago. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
I've seen some rather young girls and guys go into carnie trailers. What they are doing in there is something that is probably best left unsaid. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]
I was on the ferris wheel at the Appy Fair one year, looking down on a carnie trailer while the wheel was stopped. Door opened, two very nice looking girls step out, clothing messed up. Then a nasty carnie steps out behind them.
Are these women so hard up that they have to resort to banging carnies? [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]
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I thought I saw you at Wal Mart with a package of Depends in your cart just a month or so ago
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actually anytime I'm at wal-mart shopping you may find a pack of Assurance incontinence pads in my cart (generic brand). I leave one down for the dogs when I'm gone during the day. They're better than the ones in the pet section!
I think the fair needs whomever used to do talent to come back. A few years back..ok several, they tended to get talent that was just about to break it big. Someone had a good handle on music or had a good connection and got talent that wasn't as expensive when booked but by the time the fair rolled around was a bit more successful.
Keep in mind we've had the same fair committee for many many years. Our fair committe is aging, and not so much into 'keeping up'
The committee needs young blood!
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You should hold off and go Saturday night. Phil Dirt & The Dozers. Good little band. I've seen them at least 6 or 7 times over the last 10-15 years.
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I can't make it saturday (gotta go to KY to the in-laws) or I would be there to see them.
Did go last night walked around the midway twice, took my sister-in-law on the moon(something) ride and had to get the guy to stop it early because she got pretty scared (had never been on anything like that) then we went and rode the ferris wheel. Was it just last night or has there been nobody there much all week, I was expecting a bigger crowd. I did get to watch some of the motorcross racing before we left.
I know its generally the same committee, and I actually used to have the name of who it was that was primarily involved with selecting talent, but they aren't involved currently and haven't been in several years.
look for the fair to be moved to June 4 next year. Grey Fair is expanding back to 2 weeks so they are going to take this week and the next week they are scheduled for. Grey is a big money maker for them. I think June 4 week is probably the only slot they had open [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]
I was at the fair tonight (got called in to work while I was at the Jamboree). There seemed to be a fairly decent sized crowd (not packed though). Most of the parking was taken by the time I got there (7:00 pm).
I spoke with some of the carnies, and they were kind of dismayed that no one was playing the games - apparently that's how it's been all week for them. They make their money on the games played - there's no luxury of a salary for them.
The lines for the rides weren't terribly long.
The horseshow had a good crowd.
The Elvis impersonator had an almost-capacity crowd.
WISE "? The Virginia-Kentucky District Fair and Horse Show, which ended Saturday night, will be back sooner than you might expect.
During contract negotiations with the James H. Drew Exposition "? the company that brings the rides and games fair-goers enjoy on the midway "? the local fair committee agreed to schedule the fair about two months earlier, from June 4-9, beginning in 2007.
According to Shelcy Mullins Jr., a member of the fair committee, the fair has been held in August since the first county fair 93 years ago. Changing such a time-honored tradition is tough, Mullins said Tuesday during an interview at the fairground offices, but sometimes a change is necessary.
Rescheduling the event, which usually draws 20,000-25,000 visitors per year, was a hard decision to make, Mullins said. Fair committee members went back and forth between March and June, debating the pros and cons of a move and investigating other fair companies before finally signing a five-year contract in June.
The key reason for the change was money, Mullins said. Insurance costs for companies like James H. Drew and for fairgrounds like the one in Wise County keep rising steadily, he said.
Gas prices are rising, too, he added, and scheduling for a company like James H. Drew is tight during July and August, traditional fair months.
Setting the event in June will help ease the financial burden on fair-goers, too, Mullins said. Tickets will remain the same price, but parents won't be dealing with back-to-school shopping and other nearby fairs, he noted.
Hopefully, an early summer fair will mean cooler temperatures, too, he added.
Rides
For the past several years, the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair has suffered as a result of James H. Drew's busy season, Mullins said, because the company couldn't afford to set up all of its rides here. The company shut down a fair in Nashville, Tenn., set up here just over 36 hours later, operated here for five days, then headed for Gray, Tenn.
In June, the company has a more leisurely schedule, and can stop by Wise County on its way from Indianapolis to Roanoke. Because the demand for rides, games and other fair faire isn't as high in June, local daredevils can expect to see three to five new rides at next year's fair.
Fair committee vice-chairman Barbara Caruso noted that James H. Drew is not paid to bring rides here, but rather relies on ticket sales for profit. The fair committee gets a percentage of the ticket sales, and that money is used to maintain the fairgrounds facilities.
"They wouldn't be asking us to do this if they didn't think it was a good business move,"? Caruso added.
And if the move is successful, Mullins noted, the fair committee can afford to fix up aging food booths, stage facilities and more.
Entertainers
Those who come to the fair to hear music will also get more bang for their buck as a result of the change, Mullins said.
Entertainers who work the fair circuit increase their prices during July and August in anticipation of high demand during the peak fair season, according to Caruso, who books the acts that appear each year.
For example, Mullins said, one big-name entertainer who performed in recent years charges $23,000 for an appearance in August, but charges only $12,000 to perform in June.
The price difference alone could mean two to three big-name entertainers each year instead of just one, Caruso said.
Exhibits
Agricultural, food and arts and crafts exhibits are a big part of a summer fair, Caruso noted. About 90 produce exhibits were entered in this year's fair, along with 105 flower exhibits and 166 food preservation entries.
Some of those categories might be hit hard by the move.
Susan Herndon, a local extension agent who oversees the agricultural and food preservation exhibits at the fair, said in a telephone interview Monday that the opportunity to enter garden produce will be limited by the fair, because June is before the peak growing season.
Tomatoes, green beans, squash, potatoes and other garden produce won't be ready for exhibition in June, she said. Other produce, like strawberries, might be ready in some areas but not in others, she added.
Asparagus, kale, mustard spinach and other greens will probably be ready in time, she added.
Canned items might be slightly limited by the change, but if canners start now, they might still be able to enter some of the standard favorites.
The rules state that items canned between the previous fair and the current fair are eligible, so industrious canners can work this fall on preparing the produce that won't be ready by next June, including green beans, tomatoes and pickles, she added.
Some flowers won't be ready in time for the fair, but others that pass their peak before August could now be entered, Caruso noted.