Visitors to the 2010 Crawford County Fair may be able to hear a lineup of local musicians — maybe even a comedian or two — in addition to the fair’s traditional lineup of major entertainment acts.
At Thurs-day’s meeting of the Crawford County Fair Board, three presentations
were made for staging a day of local entertainment on the grandstand stage.
The first proposal, by Lisa Bower of Guys Mills, would include a variety of musical acts, ranging from everything to dance, Americana folk, gospel bluegrass, country blues and folk, country southern rock, classic rock, comedy and others. Most will play for 30 minutes each. The day would conclude with a 90-minute show by well-known regional band Jake’s Blues. Total cost to the fair board would be $9,725.
Jim Shields, director of Forever Broadcasting presented a proposal with a $10,000 pricetag, called a “Froggy Festival.” It would feature a day-long program with eight local bands, chosen after they submit demonstration tapes to the radio station. They would be chosen from a broad regional area and could be from as far away as West Virginia.
The third proposal from Sounds of America was a general proposition with no details offered. Its promoter stressed the importance of using local talent, noting it benefits both the fair and the county.
Board members will review the proposal prior to the next meeting and plans to contract with one of them for a program on Monday of Fair Week.
In the meantime, fair board members are still negotiating with two country stars for entertainment on Wednesday and Thursday nights of Fair Week. The board met in a long executive session to discuss potential contracts. Frederic Wagner, board treasurer and entertainment committee, said after the meeting board members are concerned about the cost of booking big-name entertainers in view of the poor economy as well as the fact the state has no funding in the budget for fairs this year. Those negative factors are a stumbling block right now that could determine how “big” a name is chosen this year.
Other events scheduled so far are: Tractor pull on the opening Saturday night, Fair Queen Pageant on Sunday night; local entertainment, Monday; car and motorcycle thrill show, Tuesday night; truck pull on Friday night; and Demolition Derby on the closing Saturday.
In other action, the board approved:
n Hiring Woodring Security to provide security at the fair again.
n A contract with Fine Print for printing of fair books at a cost of $3,495 for 1,000 books. The second proposal from Emerald Printing and Design of Cochranton was for $5,900 for the same number.
n A contract with The Meadville Tribune for brochures at a cost of $2,200 and for placemats.
n Approved the same ticket prices for the tractor and truck pulls and the demolition derbies as last year.
n Approved the same space rates for concessions as last year.
The board rejected a proposal by a 4-3 vote to give parkers and gate personnel a 3 percent pay raise for each of the next three years if the fair showed a profit. Voting no were Ken Hyde, Boots Dunn, John Lasko and Wagner. Voting yes were Bill Winters, Ron Kerr and Ivan Rose.
