My efforts as 2006 Cayuga County Fair director allowed me to see first-hand the needs of the fair. Our successes far outnumbered our less successful events. We do not believe as a fair board that we had any true failures. Faced with an uphill battle to resurrect the county fair after it's absence in 2005, we focused our efforts on a “new beginning.”

One of the first visions was to make the Cayuga County Fair a family gathering place with music, animals exhibits, youth exhibits, crafters and vendors and amusement rides and make it a place for people of all ages to enjoy and, most notably, for free.

We sought to obtain local sponsorships and the support of the community. Our successes were numerous, we worked out an agreement with DIRT Motorsports to operate the fair during our selected time frame, and they supported us with the needed additional insurance and supported us in every way possible to make 2006 a success.

We had always operated a free stage at the fair, in which both youth and adult entertainment played. We were able to build a new 45- by 30- foot enclosed stage which will give us many years of use. We renamed the new stage “Community Stage.”

A fair is not a fair without animal exhibits, and 2006 brought us a challenge to rebuild. Our cattle barn and outdoor horse arena were in dire need of repair. Through local donations and support from 25 volunteers from the Southern Cayuga Central FFA chapter, the cattle barn received a facelift.

As the opening day got near, it was clear that the key to a successful fair is volunteers and sponsors. Every member of our board gave countless hours to make 2006 a success. We gave all that attended some great free entertainment, good food and great exhibits by youth and adults and outside crafters and vendors.

To ensure future fairs, more volunteers need to come forward. We need more sponsors and more non-profit groups that want to participate in the fair.

Our board meets monthly to ensure that we improve on our weaknesses. We will have better parking arrangements with parking attendants, improved seating throughout the fairgrounds, more varieties of food and a new larger crafter/vendor show and sale. Many new shows are being planned, and we stress that our success is driven by volunteers.

If you have any comments or would like to discuss becoming a volunteer or sponsor, you can contact me at jcpl52@yahoo.com.

We hope to see you July 5 through 8. We will be bigger and better and will still have free admission.