THE BALLOON MAN

 

Operating under new owners, State Fair of Virginia reaches the midway point of its 2012 run
FROM:  washingtonpost.com
October 2, 2012
DOSWELL, Va. — The crowds may be off a bit for the fried foods, farm animals and champion produce at this year’s State Fair of Virginia, but the man who helped save the annual event from going under says the fairgoers are happy to find it still going strong.

Most people say, “Thank you for saving the fair. And you’ve done a great job,” said Mark Lovell, the president of Universal Fairs LLC of Tennessee.
The fair is about midway through its run, which began Friday under the partnership of Lovell’s Universal Fairs and the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. Both parties agree they have some kinks to work out. While fair attendance figures were not available Tuesday, Lovell and the Farm Bureau hinted that the numbers were likely down.
Both blame uncertainty over the future of the fair and the short turn-around after the attraction’s salvation from collapse under a mountain of debt.

Greg Hicks, a spokesman for the Farm Bureau, said attendance was at best average over the weekend or 10 percent to 20 percent off.

Universal Fairs purchased the rolling green acres at auction in May for $5.67 million from State Fair of Virginia Inc. In July, the Farm Bureau announced it partnership with Universal to produce the fair under the name of Commonwealth Fairs and Events LLC.
read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/operating-under-new-owners-state-fair-of-virginia-reaches-the-midway-point-of-its-run/2012/10/02/a513560a-0cc4-11e2-97a7-45c05ef136b2_story.html