Tres Pinos
– The skies were gray this weekend, but that didn’t stop some
12,000 visitors from making it out to the San Benito County
Fair.
Tres Pinos – The skies were gray this weekend, but that didn’t stop some 12,000 visitors from making it out to the San Benito County Fair.
“It went really well, even though the weather was kind of funny,” Fair Director Kelley Ferreira said.
According to Ferreira, attendance was down on Friday and went up on Saturday. Overall paid attendance was 7 percent less than last year, but Ferreira suggested that with volunteers who got in for free, the fair might actually have had more visitors this year. In any case, he said, most of the booths did well.
“Most of our revenue is right on target,” Ferreira said. “The food booths had a lot of business, and so did the commercial ones.”
He added, “The fair is an event for the community. … Fairs don’t make a ton of money. It’s more of a break-even proposition at most.”
In the past, fair security had to deal with some alcohol-related incidents, but Ferreira said there were no problems this year, due perhaps to the fair’s decision to stop selling alcohol half an hour before the actual event came to an end.
Supervisor Anthony Botelho said he had a great time and barely noticed the weather at all.
“You can’t be a citizen of San Benito and not go to the fair,” he said. “I thought the weather wasn’t that bad.”
On Sunday, the gray clouds started drizzling on the fairgrounds in Bolado Park. Ferreira said the fair has insurance in case of rain, but Sunday’s sprinkling was too light for the insurance to take effect.
One part of the fair that did well despite the weather was Saturday’s Junior Livestock Auction, in which young members of the local 4-H and Future Farmers of America clubs sell rabbits, goats, pigs, beef and sheep that they have been raising.
“The economy’s kind of down, so we weren’t sure what to expect,” Livestock Chairman Rodney Bianchi said. “But San Benito really stepped up. I couldn’t honestly tell you if we broke any records, but we made just under $400,000.”
According to Bianchi, the auction’s proceeds were around $350,000 last year. He estimated that the young livestock owners keep about 95 percent of that money, with a small commission going to pay for various auction and fair expenses.
In the past, one fair official has said the auction is the “meat and potatoes” of the fair, and Bianchi didn’t dispute the description.
“It’s a culmination of the whole shebang,” he said. “For the kids, it’s a business, and that’s their pay day.”
Bianchi emphasized the family nature of the event. He pointed out that as a child, he participated in the auction, and he hopes his 7-year-old son will follow in his footsteps.
The county fair also saw some changes this year – namely, the closing of the main performance stage and an increasing number of attractions for children.
“(The main stage) never seemed to attract anyone,” Ferreira said. ” We decided to suspend the stage for a year, and then do a lot more stuff for kids.”
The options for younger attendees included rides, games, a dog-and-pony show and a ride on a motorized train – all for free. Ferreira called the shift in focus a success.
“A lot of people thanked me for that,” he said. “Money’s tight, and people appreciate having a place for the kids to have fun.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 931-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
