Florida Fair News
“FAIR facts” For Indian River County The Firefighters’ Indian River County Fair held March 14
-23, 2014 was themed “Smiles on the Midway.” Total attendance at the event was 51,300 people, down from 2013. Severe thunder storm warnings and a Tornado Watch
were in effect for 6 counties including the Indian River County area. The Fair administration decided to stay safe and did not operate the Fair on Monday March 17th. Oth- er than this one day and a few days of gusty winds the overall conditions were perfect. The School District of In- dian River County had their spring break after our event so attendance was down midweek due to school nights but the weekends were strong. We had our best opening weekend recorded since our inception in 1980 with 9,138 visitors on Saturday alone. The Fair’s official website
www.firefightersfair.org had over 100,000 hits on the site in March alone as well as our Facebook page. Here, we were able to offer specials to Facebook viewers who “Liked” the Fair and purchased advance tickets. Visitors to the Fair were welcomed at the main entrance to the fairgrounds hosted by Florida Coast Equipment with landscape designs and fire pits donated by Coast to Coast Landscaping, Beech Annuals and Seal Rite Pavers. Fair guests could rest and relax in an air- conditioned area provided by Own It Now. And the Fair’s media reception day was March, 13th held at Oak Harbor Club and sponsored by the McCall Agency. Admission prices were $6 at the gate or $5 if purchased
in advance for adults. $4 for youth’s ages 6-12 and senior citizens 55 and up. Free for children ages 5 and younger. We continue to offer a “Power Pass” advanced gate/ride coupon. This two-part ticket that visitors purchase before the Fair’s opening were available for $20. With $4 for gate entry and $16 for the midway the advance purchase of gate admission tickets were up compared to 2013. Visitors are looking for bargains and we tried to deliver by providing ride specials every day and we always offer free parking. Strates Shows provided the carnival midway, where the
carnival gross was up compared with 2013. This was the fourth season the carnival and the Fair used “Barcoded” wristbands. A system which allows proper tracking of ticket sales and rider usage on the grounds. 4-H entries for Swine, Steers, Breed stock, Cavies,
Chickens, Goats, Rabbits and Citrus trees were up from 2013. Total livestock sale prices were up from 2013. Ride specials offered this season were; The Pro-Tech
Systems opening day ride special March 14th had unlim- ited rides for $25. Other ride specials included; The Harvest Food & Out-
reach weekend held March 15th and 16th which gave all visitors a $3 savings on their ride wristband when they brought a boxed or canned food donation per person. If no food donation was brought the price was $25. 1,940lbs of food was collected during this drive time. “Carload Night” presented by Dyer Auto was March 19th which offered up to 7 persons seat belted in a vehicle with gate admission and wristbands for $60. The Snyder Plumping midweek ride specials were Tuesday, March 18th through Thursday, March 20th. Here all visitors could
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ride till closing for $25. The American Red Cross Day sponsored by Burklew Real Estate was Friday, March 21st with a special $25 wristband day. The Fair donated $1 for every paid adult visitor to the local Red Cross chapter for a total of $2,212. Saturday, March 22nd was Skate Factory Day where visitors purchased a ride wristband special for $25 from 1:00pm until 8:00pm and rode till closing. On Sunday, March 23rd we provided the Salvation Army with a clothing drive. All visitors had a $3 savings on their ride wristband when they brought an article of clothing per person. If no clothing was donated the price was $25 each. Over 271 articles of clothing were collected. Ongoing Fair attractions included a Demolition Derby on
Saturday, March 15th and Sunday, March 16th hosted by Firehouse Garage & Mike’s Towing. Guests were greeted as they entered the grounds by Tall Tex, Scare- crow and Tobar while Durty Dingus a Rodeo Clown provided strolling entertainment all day. Chris Macloed a local spray paint artist entertained the crowds each weekend. The Boy Scouts of America-Order of the Arrow “Hitchiti Indian Dancers” performed on Sunday, March 23rd and the 4-H Dixie Wranglers dance club per- formed several times and entertained the crowds along with Michael Hyde and his bagpipes greeting patrons. A bull whip cracking contest kept patrons busy as well as a Hot Wing Eating Competition presented by Wilke’s 14 Bones. The Vero Beach Recreation Department’s Aerial Antics Circus performed their trapeze and dance routines. The Indian River Blood Bank mobile unit was on site
Saturday, March 15th and Sunday, March 16th for a com- munity blood drive with 31 units being collected for their reserves. An increase this season in the number of entries for
competitive exhibits were; baked goods, creative crafts and canning. A baked goods auction was held Saturday evening March 15th with proceeds going the Indian River County Youth 4-H program. An exciting competitive entry again this season was a Corn Hole tournament where 3 teams competed for cash prizes. A Karaoke contest along with a Barn Dance was held on March 21st at the livestock pavilion. The Barn “King & Queen” Competition, a 4-H Youth BBQ Cooking contest, the 4-H Youth Rabbit & Cavy Show, there was a Steer Grooming competition, a Swine Show, the Steer Show, a Goat Show, a Poultry Show, a Citrus Tree competition along with the Adult & Pee-Wee Showmanship routines were all held in the beautiful Flor- ida Farm Bureau Livestock Pavilion. Three grounds attractions entertained fairgoers; the
“Marcus Magic” Comedy & Illusion Show presented by Inside Track Almanac. The “Firefighter Training Show” was sponsored by Seacoast National Bank and the world famous “Chick with Axes” LumberJill Show per- formed daily sponsored by Indian River Medical Asso- ciates. The “Simon Sez” Comedy Hypnosis Show had the crowd laughing each evening brought to us by the Breeze 93.7FM and 99.7 Jack FM. Also, plenty of local entertainment performed daily on our main stage spon- sored by the Vero Beach Press Journal. Our Guest Relations booth at the fairground entry point
was a popular spot for visitors to ask questions about the Fair like locations for restrooms and the livestock barn, show times, entertainment schedule and of course food
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