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Fair officials pleased with turnout
The 2011 Elmore County Fair and Rodeo wrapped up on Saturday and, overall, fair manager Rena Kerfoot was happy with the 2011 event.
Kerfoot, who took over as fair manager from Shea Burns in December 2010, had only six months to pull the fair together.
Although the contract with Paradise Amusements was in place, as was the one for porta-potty rentals, contracts with vendors and entertainers had not been addressed when Burns left.
Add to that a slow start to this year's growing season, which stunted produce, and a few minor glitches with the fairground's irrigation and electrical systems, and Kerfoot and the fair board had their work cut out for them.
Yet despite having only six months to round up vendors and entertainers, this year's fair proved no less successful than the year before.
"The first couple of nights we were down (in attendance) from last year," said Kerfoot. However Friday night's crowd was equal to that of last year's and Saturday night's attendance surpassed that of 2010, she said.
Although food vendors in the midway were plentiful, and offered everything from tacos to stir-fried noodles, vendors hawking a variety of other wares were down.
Kerfoot said several vendors had to cancel due to family obligations. She believes the economy and fuel prices also played a role in keeping vendor attendance low, especially for out-of-state vendors. Without a series of shows or other fairs nearby at the same time to attract them, vendors might have decided the cost of fuel to travel to Glenns Ferry for one fair was not cost effective, Kerfoot surmised.
Open Class exhibits also showed decreased participation. A late spring set crops back several weeks and those vegetables that were submitted were smaller than usual. An aging pool of participants also may be contributing to fewer submissions, Kerfoot suggested.
For more details, see this week's Mountain Home News