"We cannot afford to wait until the storm has passed. We must learn to work in the rain." ~ Peter Silas
Fairs Year-round Information	F.Y.I. Volume 7, Issue 13 June 20, 1997

Family Value-Paks Join Traditional Perks at 1997 Fairs

In an ongoing effort to attract fair patrons with money-saving deals, a number of California’s fairs are offering family-sized “value-paks” in addition to the more traditional discount events — Kids’ Day, Seniors’ Day, etc.

At the Del Mar Fair, fair-going families received admission for two adults and two children, along with four medium soft drink coupons and 20 carnival ride coupons (approximately four rides worth), for $24.95. The value-pak was available exclusively at the fair’s box office until the day before opening day.

At the Orange County Fair, Ray Cammack Shows is offering an Advance Ticket Carnival Book for $10.00. The book includes 30 carnival coupons (five to six rides worth) and five food coupons accepted exclusively at carnival concessions (about a $10.00 value). Admission to the fair isn’t included. The books are available at area Longs Drugs until the day before opening day, or by mail order from the fair’s box office until one week before the fair.

The Poppy Family Value-Pak will be available at this year’s California State Fair. For $29.95, fair visitors will receive four admission tickets, four ride coupons, and $12.00 worth of food coupons good at all food concessions. All-in-all, it’s a $58.00 value. The value-pak is available at area Thrifty-Payless stores and the Cal Expo box office until the Sunday before the fair’s opening day.

Is your fair using a value-pak as part of this year’s marketing game plan? Share your strategy with your fellow fairs in F.Y.I. If your fair has already taken place, let us know how the value-pak concept worked for you.

Send, fax or phone your contributions to F.Y.I. at 1776 Tribute Road, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95815, attention: Melissa Thurber. Fax: 916/646-1238.

Western Fairs Association’s bi-annual Fair Directors Workshop will be held at the Sacramento Hilton Wednesday and Thursday, August 27 and 28. This day and a half workshop is designed especially for fair board directors and offered at no charge. The highlights of this year’s program include industry forums, behind-the-scenes tours of Cal Expo, and general topic sessions. If you haven’t yet received registration information in the mail, please contact WFA at 916/927-3100.

Also on the WFA calendar for August are a series of industry meetings and the annual industry reception, all held on the Cal Expo Fairgrounds:

Tuesday, August 26

• Professional Development Committee
  10:00 a.m. - Cal Expo Board Room
• Service Member Board Meeting
  2:00 p.m. - Cal Expo Board Room

Wednesday, August 27

• Service Member Meeting
  2:00 p.m. - Club House/Satellite Wagering Facility
• WFA Industry Reception
  5:30 p.m. - Club House/Satellite Wagering Facility

No time to shop for items your fair needs? Many of them could be available at great savings through CFSA’s Government Surplus Program. Simply give Graeme Stewart, program buyer, a call. In the meantime, here’s a short list of items currently in the Sacramento warehouse:

• 3/8" nylon rope - new, 200' rolls
• 1/2" bolts - new, ranging in length from 14" to 38." One inventive fair manager turned the longer bolts into animal tie rings for his fair's livestock area
• Casters - with attached cart
• 80-drawer cabinets - ideal for storing prize ribbons or small parts used in Maintenance Shops
• Stair ladders on wheels - with platform. You'll find these ladders indispensable for your Exhibits Department

For more information on these and other great buys, or if you’d like to arrange a tour of the South Sacramento surplus warehouse or accompany the buyer on a visit to a surplus yard, call Graeme Stewart at 916/765-3673.

Please Note: CFSA’s Surplus Purchasing Program is only authorized to obtain surplus property for California’s fairs.

Warm weather and sunny skies have helped the majority of this year's first fairs increase their paid attendance totals.

Fair season also brings a couple of influential changes to this year's attendance tally: both the National Orange Show and Sacramento County Fair had free gates this year.

To date, with seven fairs reporting in, here's how this year's numbers compare with last year's:

• 1997: 318,805 visitors
• 1996: 355,172 visitors
• Total: -36,367 -10%

HAVE A CONTRIBUTION FOR

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F.Y.I. invites and encourages all fairs to contribute articles and article ideas for the Fair Exchange column. We’ll even write the article for you. For details, call Melissa Thurber at 916/263-6178 or Joan Bartosik at 916/663-9256.
To add F.Y.I. to your press release mailing list, send or fax releases to:

1776 Tribute Road, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95815
Attn: Melissa Thurber
Fax: 916/646-1238