THE BALLOON MAN

Sumner County Fair moves to June

Organizers hope earlier date brings more visitors, cooler weather

The 69th annual Sumner County Fair will run June 23-28 at the Gallatin fairgrounds. This year's fair will have a new midway. 

/Dessislava Yankova / File / Gallatin News Examiner

from:  tennessean.com

Written by Dessislava Yankova

Feb. 17, 2014 

Gallatin,TN--The Ferris wheel will be turning a month and a half earlier this year.

After taking place in early August for 68 years, the 69th annual Sumner County Fair is scheduled for June 23-28, a cooler period likely to attract more people with fewer school conflicts, event board members say.

The fair attracts 15,000 people on average from Sumner and beyond.

Attendance at the fair has plummeted over the years as the school start date has been pushed into early August.

“But in June, they won’t have to think about school,” said Jimmy Moore, the fair’s new president. “They will be more free, and they will be looking for something to do. Our fair is going to be one of the earliest fairs in Tennessee, and it will help the attendance. It will be a win-win situation for the fair and for the people.”

Holding the fair in August also hindered the Fairest of the Fair contest as some girls, who otherwise would have participated, had already gone to college. To participate, on the day of the event contestants must have reached their 16th birthday, but not their 21st birthday by Jan. 31, 2015, fair secretary Connie Gaither said.

“That cut our pageant in half because those are the girls who have been participating for years and they go to college, and we were losing them,” said Gaither, who helps run the contest she won in 1969.

New carnival planned

With cooler June temperatures, organizers also expect more participation in other pageants, such as the baby contest as young children won’t get irritated because of the hot weather.

Organizers are also hoping a revamped midway will further draw more people. Clanton, Ala.-based Kissel Entertainment will set up fair rides after Gibsonton, Fla.-based Myers International Midways Inc. retired from the local event.

“The new carnival, they’re young, fired-up professionals,” Gaither said. “There will be new and additional rides for younger and older children. We’re really excited.”

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http://www.tennessean.com/viewart/20140217/GALLATIN01/302170079/Sumner-County-Fair-moves-June