Editor’s note: A Shelby County resident and agricultural member of the community wrote the following the letter of the editor but chose to stay anonymous due to fears of receiving backlash from the Shelby County Fair Board. The Sidney Daily News chooses whether or not to publish anonymous letters on a case-by-case basis and has elected to publish this letter.
Shelby County Fair Board,
Regarding the proposal to largely increase admission prices: please do not penalize the devoted fairgoers of Shelby County by increasing the cost of admission by so much.
While comparing the admission of other county fair prices, I feel this would hurt the overall turnout of the fair. More than 75 percent of county fairs in the state do not include rides in their admission prices and the cost ranges from $5-$10 for around ages 7 and up.
Shelby County Fair is the only fair I’ve seen that charges a child by their height at the gate and not their age. Even the largest county fair in the state, the Canfield fair, charges separately. They charge $10 for admission with ages 6 and under being free.
As far as fairs that include rides in their admission prices, I have found the following: Champaign- $8, Clinton- $ 10, Allen- $10 and Pike- $10. These are just a few fairs I’ve found that charge together.
Several people do not come to the fair for the rides, so allow the ride company to set their price and charge separately. The community members that this would impact most are grandparents that come to watch their grandchildren exhibit their projects, large families that simply cannot afford such an increase who want to come to see the animals and enjoy their favorite treats, families with young children who cannot benefit from the cost of admission and rides being combined and people that bring animals in for open shows who will not be able to ride due to prepping and showing their animals.
This will also negatively impact our 4H and FFA kids whose loved ones may choose not to attend or walk through and see their projects that they have devoted countless hours on. This could also have a negative impact on the senior fair entries that must purchase an exhibitors pass to bring their items.
In the Sidney Daily News article published on Sept. 23, it states “Fair Board president, Scott Bertsch, said, “I don’t think $15 a day is too big an ask.” Yes, this is a large ask, when you look at everyone this impacts.
As someone who attends 5-7 days of Great Shelby County Fair every year for the livestock and to see youth projects, I feel this large increase would have a negative impact on the fair.
Thank you for your time.
Signed,
An Agricultural Member of Shelby County
