"They don't make nostalgia like they used to." ~ Anonymous
Fairs Year-round Information	F.Y.I. Volume 7, Issue 21 October 10, 1997

Being two places at once is no problem for this ex-ag teacher turned California fair manager

Bill Dale is feeling pretty positive these days. Doubly so, you might say. He had the unique opportunity to manage not one, but two fairs this year ~ fairs that both showed an increase in attendance.

Making the jump from teaching (he was a college ag instructor) to the fair industry in 1995, Dale began as the manager of the Chowchilla-Madera County Fair. A year later, he was offered the manager's post at the Gold Country Fair in Auburn. Under Dale's direction, fair- time programming was expanded to appeal to a broader audience, while year-round activities increased.

When the manager's position opened up at the nearby Placer County Fair in Roseville, Dale saw an opportunity from which both fairs could benefit and proposed that his time be split equally between the two fairs. This led to the Gold Country Fair offering a management contract to Placer County Fair — a contract that added up to savings for Placer County Fair, and a significant source of nonfair-time revenue for the Gold Country Fair.

Although close in miles, each fair has its own audience and personality. Located in the heart of the old gold rush town of Auburn, the Gold Country Fair (Class II) embodies the warm, friendly spirit of a small town fair. The Placer County Fair (Class III), also with small town roots, now finds its "small town" is a rapidly growing high tech community.

Because the two fairs are a mere 15 miles apart, they're able to share more than a CEO. Dale now has maintenance staff and equipment traveling between the two. The fairs even share a marketing firm, which translates into a higher volume of media buys at a lower cost.

And these strategies are working. This year, the Placer County Fair's total paid attendance was up 57 percent (helping boost the attendance was the elimination of free admission on the Fourth of July); the Gold Country Fair was up 4 percent. Questions? Comments? You can reach Bill Dale in Auburn at 916/823-4533 or in Roseville at 916/786-2023.

CFSA’s Board Secretary, Donna Horner, reminds all Class I and II fair electors that their voting ballots for the board’s midterm election are due by October 14, 1997. If you have any questions regarding the election, call Donna at 916/921-2213.

Have you received your new Office Depot catalog? All California fairs will be receiving one at the request of CFSA’s Purchasing Department. Although Office Depot is the state’s contractor for office supplies, a number of useful supplies aren’t included in the contract. To bridge the gap, CFSA has established a corporate buying agreement with Office Depot, and can purchase these supplies for you at substantial savings over regular price. For more information or to place an order, call Karen at 916/263-6191.

Other Timely Tips

Stock Up For “El Nino” With the prediction of a wetter-than-average winter, there’s always the chance your fairgrounds may be needed to house area evacuees in case of flooding or another catastrophe. In preparation, Karen urges all fairs to check their inventories of toilet tissue, seat covers, hand towels, garbage can liners and other essentials.
To place an order, please call Karen at 916/263-6191.

Need chairs? An inventory of about 300 light tan folding plastic chairs (Samsonite #2200) are available for sale.
Call Karen for details at 916/263-6191.

The National Safety Council has targeted October as Fire Safety month. Here are a couple tips of value to businesses such as fairgrounds concerning construction and electrical hazards:

• Watch those renovations. Construction activities increase the risk of fire because of the large amounts of combustibles on the scene and an abundance of ignition sources that can turn these combustibles into a roaring fire.
• Watch what’s plugged in. By putting too many electrical plugs in one outlet, you’re trying to draw out more electricity than the wires are equipped to handle. Fires from overloaded circuits usually start within the walls, and by the time you find out there’s a fire, it could be too late.
• Practice good housekeeping. The Safety Council also advises keeping flammable gases, liquids, clothing, curtains and paper away from electric plugs, switches and heating and cooking elements. A spark while unplugging a plug or turning a switch on or off could be all it takes to ignite some flammable liquids and gases.

Want to know more about how to make your fairgrounds fire resistant? Call Tom Amberson, CFSA Safety, 916/263-6180.

Not only is this a must-attend event for satellite wagering facility supervisors, it’s also a rare opportunity for everyone in the fair industry to be entertained and enlightened by the Symposium’s two keynote speakers: business guru, T. Scott Gross, explaining how to build customer loyalty, on Monday, October 20; and Peter McGugan (a fair industry favorite), on beating job burnout, Tuesday, October 21. The Symposium takes place at Cal Expo in Sacramento.

There’s no charge for either presentation, but seating is limited. For times, exact location and reservations, please RSVP to Joan Bartosik at 916/663-9256.

The positive trend is continuing. With 42 fairs reporting in, here’s how the numbers add up:

• 1997: 4,490,316 visitors
• 1996: 4,312,704 visitors
• Total: +177,612 +4.12%

Something New! Instead of phoning for your fair’s total paid attendance number this year, we’re faxing a brief form for you to fill out. In addition to your attendance, we hope you’ll take a minute to jot down some of your fair’s highlights for us to share in an upcoming issue of F.Y.I. Thanks!

Every week, different items are made available at military and state surplus yards throughout California. And every week, the surplus warehouse buyers visit these yards, looking for items fairs have requested, as well as items of use year-round on fairgrounds. How to get in on the savings? Give surplus buyer Graeme Stewart a call to find out if what you need is in the warehouse or to get him “shopping” for you.

In the meantime, here’s a sampling of items currently in the warehouse. Remember, items are limited to stock on hand, first-come, first served:

• Four-wheel carts with casters - work great in maintenance shops or exhibit department
• New Multi-meters - electrical tester/analyzers
• New Nylon rope - 1¼" width
• Metal hose reels - keeps hoses neatly, safely rolled out of the way
• New Metal pulleys - 8" and 10" sizes
• Metal clothes lockers - lockable

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.

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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