Staff Writer
HOULTON — Representatives of the National Association of Agricultural Fair Agencies traveled half way across the county to visit last week with members of the Houlton Agricultural Fair and tour the local facilities. A luncheon was hosted at Community Park by the Houlton Fair Committee and the group also toured the land on the County Road purchased by the Houlton Fair — soon to be the site of the annual Agriculture Fair. Hosted by Fred Lunt Jr., of Clinton, fair coordinator for the Maine Department of Agriculture and NAAFA president, members visited with several boards of Maine Agricultural Fairs during their stay in Maine. The group held its annual business meeting in Bangor on June 5.
Paul Cleary, representing the Houlton Fair Committee, called the visit an excellent opportunity for the town to showcase its successful fair — including a vibrant board of directors, dedicated staff and volunteer base and recently purchased fairgrounds.
“(It’s) a good chance to compare notes with other fairs from other states to see what they do and review what we do that works,” he said.
Much of reason the Houlton Fair is successful, according to Cleary, is the effort that goes on year-round to raise money to underwrite the true costs of putting on the four-day festival.
“People don’t realize that fairs barely break even and most of the time lose money (during the actual fair run) … in order to keep tickets affordable to families, we hold events throughout the year like the comedy shows to subsidize our fair,” Cleary said.
Future plans for the new 102-acre site include mud runs, truck pulls and snowmobile races on grass. Excavation work was expected to begin this week at the County Road location, Cleary said.
NAAFA is made up of fair coordinators from State Departments of Agriculture and Fair Associations officials. Members usually hold their annual meeting in the state where the president of this national organization resides. Members of the National Association of Agricultural Fair Agencies have the opportunity to meet with the fair boards of the state they are visiting and exchange ideas with each other. Next year’s meeting takes place in California.
