but wisdom lingers."
~ Tennyson
July 17, 1998
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"Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers." ~ Tennyson |
| Fairs Year-round Information | F.Y.I. Volume 8, Issue 14
July 17, 1998 |
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Fairtime Bargains, Bargains, Bargains
From Del Mar Fair’s Frugal Fairgoer Guide to a "Four-Dollar Frenzy" at Kern County Fair, this year’s fairs are offering budget- minded fairgoers a variety of creative ways to enjoy the fair and save a bundle. With the fairs’ help, F.Y.I. will share these money-savers with you - some new, others tried and true. We’ll start with the Del Mar and Kern County Fairs:
Del Mar Fair
While admissions at several San Diego theme parks have increased, the fair’s admission remained unchanged at $8 for adults. Regularly discounted admissions included $5 for seniors and $3 for kids 6 - 12 years of age. Other bargains were listed in a Frugal Fairgoer Guide, a brochure filled with dollar stretching tips.
The Family Pack: After last year’s successful debut, Del Mar Fair’s Family Pack returned, saving families of four more than 40 percent on admission, rides and soft drinks. The Pack was available up until the day before the fair’s opening day at all San Diego Lucky stores for $24.95, and at 25 Calimax stores, Baja California’s largest supermarket chain, for $22. The Family Pack included two adult and two children’s (ages 6 - 12) admissions, four medium soft drink coupons and 20 ride coupons.
Group Discounts: Groups of 20 or more could purchase advance admission tickets for $6.50 each and senior tickets for $4.50. They could also save on rides, paying $11 for $15 worth of tickets. Frequent fairgoers also got a deal. Three visits were just $19, a $5 savings; 20 visits were $98, a $68 savings.
New for 1998, the fair partnered with the San Diego Zoo. Fair visitors received $3 off an adult zoo admission, normally run- ning $22, while fairgoers who were zoo members received $1 off an adult fair admission. In addition, zoo members and out-of-state zoo visitors, could purchase two adult fair tickets for the price of one, a savings of $8. And in one of the fair’s most original deals, Del Mar Fair ticket stubs were good for free admission to the Orange County Fair, July 10-26.
A Trip to the Track, Half-off: While supplies lasted, visitors to the fair on July 4 and 5, received a coupon good for $3 off the regular $6 race track clubhouse admission on specified days.
Kern County FairA "Four-Dollar Frenzy" will welcome visitors on opening day of the Kern County Fair, September 23. In an effort to boost attendance on what traditionally is the fair’s slowest day, opening day admission will be $4 for adults, a savings of $2. Admission for children 6 - 12 remains at $2, with kids 6 and under admitted free.
"The 1998 fair will be especially exciting, and we want to encourage people to come out on opening day," said Michael Treacy, chief executive officer of the fair. "We really make an effort to keep the fair affordable for families, so offering a discount opening day seemed natural. There’s so much for adults and kids to do at the fair. Where else can you have such a great time for $4?"
The Four-Dollar Frenzy paid off for fair sponsors, too, who receive a bonus for their participation: advertising space on a "spadia," the newspaper wrap around the Sunday comics and a vehicle in the opening day parade.
Adult discount admissions are also available to businesses. Corporations ordering 25 tickets or more, receive $1 off the adult admission price.
| Don’t Let Y2K Sneak Up on You |
Is your fair prepared for the year 2000? There may be more than 500 days until the year 2000 arrives, but the potential havoc that can be caused by date-driven computer glitches is becoming a common topic in newspapers and magazines today. And while companies and public agencies have cleaned up most of the large, archaic mainframe systems, experts are just beginning to identify potential malfunctions in personal computers and embedded chip devices.
The problem? Some computer chips are programmed to store only the last two digits of a four digit year (i.e., 98 instead of 1998), which could turn 2000 into 1900. Think about it, bills would be overdue before they were sent out, and birth certificates would say 1900 instead of 2000. In fact, articles point out, practically every aspect of today’s world could be affected, including issuers of long-term loans such as mortgage companies, city and county governments, banks, even airport air traffic control systems. In addition, within a typical building, programmable heating, ventilating and air conditioning could shut down; as could telephones; lighting; sprinklers and other fire safety methods; security systems; underground storage-tank monitors; generators; parking access setups; utility metering; and elevators.
An article in Business Insurance reports the "big three" auto manufacturers are already checking their computers. In addition to their own computer concerns, the auto makers are voicing concern about the problems that would arise if their suppliers computers crashed or malfunctioned. Crain’s Chicago Business and Crain’s New York Business report banks are also taking a proactive stance, analyzing their clients’ preparedness for the year 2000 under pressure from federal bank regulators.
Bruce Bondurant, CFSA’s senior network specialist, reports that fairs utilizing CFSA’s VAX will not have any date-related problems as the VAX is configured to accommodate four digit years.
To check for potential problems with your software, he suggests checking the software manufacturers’ Web sites (including those of any plug-ins, shareware or freeware) for Y2K information. To test your computers once necessary adjustments have been made, DPx magazine recommends setting up a stand-alone (off the network) test station, changing the date and running your usual applications. For network applications that can’t be tested, DPx advises backing up all data and applications that may be affected first, and then changing the date.
Questions? Contact Bruce at 916/263-6153.
| Let's Go To The Fair |
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!
| Speeding Tickets? Do Time on the Computer |
Just when you thought you’d heard it all . . . Did you know if you’re caught speeding in certain parts of California, Texas or Florida, you can avoid a hike in your car insurance by attending traffic school on-line? The safe driving courses, such as www.onlinetraffic school.com or www. webtrafficschool.com, take about four to eight hours to complete, and cost less than $30. Pass the course and the offense gets wiped off your record. According to an article in PC World magazine, more states are planning to add this option in the future.
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.
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F.Y.I. is published by CFSA in partnership with CARF, CCA, F&E and WFA
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