Faircracker FALL 2019
Championing Change in
Competitive Exhibits
By: Rhonda Ward Hello everyone! I hope that eve-
ryone is enjoying their summer or maybe you are right in the middle of your fair. Either way, I know all of us are working on ways to be champi- ons of change. The competitive ex- hibits committee has been busy since last Convention working on ways to garner change and showcase our champions of competitive exhibits. We hope to share with you lots of new ideas, creative set ups, outside the box competitions, and much more at this year’s convention. I wanted to take this time to
share how we decided to be Champi- ons of Change at the Collier Fair in Naples, Fla. Our competitive exhibits over the past few years have been steadily declining in the amount of entries. Our committee met and talked about ways to change that. We decided that many people today (ourselves included) lead such hectic lives that sometimes the fun things get put to the back burner in life. We wanted to Champion a Change in bringing back the fun, the relaxation, satisfaction, and pride you get in making your own project, entering it in the fair and then anticipating/ receiving your award. So, we made a plan. If our pa-
trons don’t have the time, just may- be we could host mini-competitive exhibit workshops throughout the year at the fairgrounds. We decided to pick simple projects at first and see what type of response we would receive. We put it out on Facebook, sent e-mails to our livestock and past competitive exhibits exhibitors. We decided to charge $5 for each partici-
pant. This may not cover cost, but it would come close and sometimes be more than enough. Boy, oh boy, were we surprised by the response. We had set a limit (in truth a goal) of 10, and we had 25 respond. So, plan B was to take the 25 and go with it. We did! What a fun day we had and parents and kids quickly started ask- ing for when the next one would be. This is how change started, and
let me tell you, it only continued from there. We had the best time. I should have said earlier that we started out with this as a project for the kids. Well, in no time, we had parents registering, making, and ex- cited to enter too. We had no idea the amount of people that didn’t even know competitive exhibits exist- ed at our fair. It was a huge success. So successful that we had more than 500 more entries than the year be- fore. I think sometimes we tend to
hear change and think how hard it will be. Or we hear the word champi- on and think, “how will something so easy make us a champion?” Well, anything we do to increase our at- tendance, put a smile on someone’s face, give the public knowledge of the different aspects of a fair, or keep our fair alive and well makes us a champion. We all have the ability to do something that makes us a “Champion of Change.” Yes you can, and yes sometimes it is hard, but sometimes it can be something so simple. Now don’t let me fool you; putting up and recording an extra 500 projects was a little more work, but our faces shined just like the en- trants once we had it all up and on display. It made our competitive ex- hibits area something to be proud of. We had other fairs compliment us and so many people noticed it and started asking how they could be a part.
We are already ready to start
projects for this year. Another bonus: Lowes donated a large amount of
Page 5
their discontinued projects for this year after hearing about our work- shops and competitive exhibits com- petition. We will be upping the game and the skill level on some of the projects this year and adding in
some new categories as the need arises. The fair clearly sees the need to keep changing and bringing in new ideas and new people and it starts with being willing to Champion Change at your fair. Bonus: this can be entered by
our fair in the competitive exhibits awards program for IAFE. Double win! Get out there and be a CHAMPI- ON OF CHANGE! You can and you will do it if you take that first step and are willing to grab change by the
horns and go for it! R
nd
Cou o
nty Fa eo
o a Fee tdraion o rs
ho a Wrd i a gr o e Collir ir in Nale, Fl . n
a s mnae f th
f the IAFE Comptit e Exhi i te. Se he is scnd v e peie Fl rid to .
f Fa s Boa ir
rsdnt o rd o
e
p s a, ad a me brme e iv ic
bts Commit- f the
f Dire- c
“Reprinted with permission, Fairs & Expos magazine, September/October 2019, International Association of Fairs and Expositions.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
