THE BALLOON MAN

Imlay City fair now called

Eastern Michigan State Fair

Changing demographics

spurred name change

by DENNIS A. SETTER

Observer Managing Editor

from romeoobserver.com

      The demographic footprint for the annual fair in Imlay City has grown significantly over the past 15 years and will now have a new name to better reflect that reality.

       The Eastern Michigan Fair, as it has been named since the 1960s, will now be known as the Eastern Michigan State Fair (EMSF). Along with the name change, the fair board also decided to adopt a new, permanent logo.

       It's not the first time the fair has changed its name to reflect changing demographics, said Ian Kempf, EMSF manager. This marks the fifth time the fair has changed its name over its 129-year history.

       The fair was called the Imlay City Driving Park and the Imlay City Fair in the late 1800s; the Lapeer County Fair in the 1930s and the Eastern Michigan Fair in the 1960s.

       "As the footprint of the fair continued to grow and the geographic area broadened, we changed our name to reflect the increase in area the fair was drawing from," said Kempf.

       The new focus placed by the EMSF on its demographics has to do with a growing trend toward more regional fairs - as opposed to one state fair - and the demise of the Michigan State Fair in 2009.

       Imlay City has seen an increase in people attending the fair from 9,000 in 1997 to 45,000 last year. Fair-goers are coming from a much larger geographic area that takes in Detroit and its suburbs, over to the central part of the state and from Canada.

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http://www.romeoobserver.com/Story.asp?page=community&storyid=21791