Ronnie Bartholomew each July readies his horses, pigs and rabbits to show at the Cayuga County Fair. The 14-year-old from Martville also brings his photographs and crafts to earn ribbons, in anticipation of being selected to show at the New York State Fair the following month.
But not this year.
Bartholomew learned Tuesday the local fair has been called off this year because the fairgrounds on Route 31 in Weedsport has a new owner and there wasn't time for the fair board of directors to negotiate with them.
What's being called poor timing is creating disappointment for 4-Hers. Like Bartholomew, many fair regulars have been attending the Cayuga County event since they were preschoolers, before they were even old enough to be Cloverbuds, the youngest of the 4-H members.
"I've been in it since I was 5," Bartholomew said. "It's an annual thing; I always looked forward to going. Now I won't be able to show off my skills."
In August 2004, Boundless Motor Sports Racing Inc., a racing and sports entertainment firm in Oklahoma, bought DIRT Motorsports and six parcels along Route 31 in Weedsport from DIRT co-founder Glenn Donnelly for $4.3 million. The land included the Cayuga County fairgrounds site.
That left the fair's board of directors little time to book date and vendors for 2005, a process which usually takes six to eight months, Bill Faulkner, president of the fair's board of directors, said Monday. He is hopeful that negotiations with Boundless will allow the fair to resume in the same location in 2006.
But that leaves Bartholomew and dozens of other 4-Hers with no place to show, not to mention enjoy the food, rides and other attractions that go on at the week-long event.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County Executive Director Kathy Scholl is trying to rectify that, but as of Tuesday, she said there's too much unknown to determine if the agency can pull together a youth fair to at least let 4-Hers qualify for state competition.
The county appropriates money into the youth bureau budget to cover some of the fair's activities, so Scholl will see if that would be available for some alternative use in the wake of the fair's cancellation. She hopes to have an answer by the end of the week.
The state Department of Agriculture and Markets, which provides money to county agricultural societies for fairs, can't help out in this case. For the money to go to Cooperative Extension, the Cayuga County Agricultural Society would have to miss two fairs.
Bartholomew said it's possible Cayuga County 4-Hers may be able to compete with 4-Hers at other counties at their fairs, but it won't be the same as being at his home fair.
Robert Forbes of Marcellus, whose teenage daughter, Whitney, is a Cayuga County 4-H member, said Onondaga County does a youth fair each year, but it lacks the flavor of a full-scale county fair.
"There are no rides or anything like that," he said. "Everybody just crowds into the (Youth Building) and has their crafts and animals judged to see if they're worthy of moving on to state competition. It's a lot more low-key."
Whitney, he said, prefers the Cayuga County 4-H, where she has been going since she was small and has made many friends.
"It's a shame," Forbes said. "A lot of kids look forward to it."
One local business owner said it's not only the youngsters who will be hurt by losing the fair, even for a year.
"The fair does bring in a lot of business," said Dan Soules, who, with Mark Dunn, owns the Weedsport Arbys restaurant. "It generates a lot of activity. Workers are setting up and they go by the restaurant once or twice a day, and they stop. Fair week is our biggest week of the summer."
Soules said the fair does a lot for Weedsport as a whole, bringing in outside dollars to many of the merchants.
"Nothing big happens in a little town, so every little piece helps," he said.
"It's really unfortunate about the fair this year. The speedway and the concerts they used to do here brought a lot of business to the community, too."
Staff writer Louise Hoffman Broach can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or louise.hoffman@lee.net
Bartholomew learned Tuesday the local fair has been called off this year because the fairgrounds on Route 31 in Weedsport has a new owner and there wasn't time for the fair board of directors to negotiate with them.
What's being called poor timing is creating disappointment for 4-Hers. Like Bartholomew, many fair regulars have been attending the Cayuga County event since they were preschoolers, before they were even old enough to be Cloverbuds, the youngest of the 4-H members.
"I've been in it since I was 5," Bartholomew said. "It's an annual thing; I always looked forward to going. Now I won't be able to show off my skills."
In August 2004, Boundless Motor Sports Racing Inc., a racing and sports entertainment firm in Oklahoma, bought DIRT Motorsports and six parcels along Route 31 in Weedsport from DIRT co-founder Glenn Donnelly for $4.3 million. The land included the Cayuga County fairgrounds site.
That left the fair's board of directors little time to book date and vendors for 2005, a process which usually takes six to eight months, Bill Faulkner, president of the fair's board of directors, said Monday. He is hopeful that negotiations with Boundless will allow the fair to resume in the same location in 2006.
But that leaves Bartholomew and dozens of other 4-Hers with no place to show, not to mention enjoy the food, rides and other attractions that go on at the week-long event.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County Executive Director Kathy Scholl is trying to rectify that, but as of Tuesday, she said there's too much unknown to determine if the agency can pull together a youth fair to at least let 4-Hers qualify for state competition.
The county appropriates money into the youth bureau budget to cover some of the fair's activities, so Scholl will see if that would be available for some alternative use in the wake of the fair's cancellation. She hopes to have an answer by the end of the week.
The state Department of Agriculture and Markets, which provides money to county agricultural societies for fairs, can't help out in this case. For the money to go to Cooperative Extension, the Cayuga County Agricultural Society would have to miss two fairs.
Bartholomew said it's possible Cayuga County 4-Hers may be able to compete with 4-Hers at other counties at their fairs, but it won't be the same as being at his home fair.
Robert Forbes of Marcellus, whose teenage daughter, Whitney, is a Cayuga County 4-H member, said Onondaga County does a youth fair each year, but it lacks the flavor of a full-scale county fair.
"There are no rides or anything like that," he said. "Everybody just crowds into the (Youth Building) and has their crafts and animals judged to see if they're worthy of moving on to state competition. It's a lot more low-key."
Whitney, he said, prefers the Cayuga County 4-H, where she has been going since she was small and has made many friends.
"It's a shame," Forbes said. "A lot of kids look forward to it."
One local business owner said it's not only the youngsters who will be hurt by losing the fair, even for a year.
"The fair does bring in a lot of business," said Dan Soules, who, with Mark Dunn, owns the Weedsport Arbys restaurant. "It generates a lot of activity. Workers are setting up and they go by the restaurant once or twice a day, and they stop. Fair week is our biggest week of the summer."
Soules said the fair does a lot for Weedsport as a whole, bringing in outside dollars to many of the merchants.
"Nothing big happens in a little town, so every little piece helps," he said.
"It's really unfortunate about the fair this year. The speedway and the concerts they used to do here brought a lot of business to the community, too."
Staff writer Louise Hoffman Broach can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or louise.hoffman@lee.net
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