Members of the fair committee decided Monday evening to scale back the 83rd installment of the fair, coming later this summer, after they considered not having it at all due to the lack of manpower within the department.
“It is going to be a three-day festival,” Rocky Grove fire chief Jeremy Simcheck said Tuesday. “We usually would go five or six days, but with us having decreased manpower, it’s tough to get people to commit to the planning and preparation work that goes into it,” he said.
By essentially cutting the event in half, Simcheck said the hope is to be able to find more people willing to volunteer their time.
In years past, members of the department devoted about 30 hours of work during the week of the fair, and that is only a portion of the entire process.
“They have a tremendous amount of work to do for about a month or two leading up to the fair, and that doesn’t even factor in the actual event,” Simcheck said.
One of the most noticeable changes this year will be the lack of large rides.
Simcheck said the fair has typically featured 16 to 17 larger rides, but they will be be replaced by other items, such as inflatable attractions, which will use the pay-to-ride system.
Another change will be taking away the $8 gate fee to enter the fairgrounds. Last year was the first time the fee was implemented, but it was not well received.
“We got a lot of negative feedback from that,” Simcheck said. “That’s one of the main reasons we are changing it back,” he said.
Parking will only be a couple of dollars after it was free last year.
Having a parade the week of the fair has always been a staple in Rocky Grove.
Simcheck said the parade is “likely” to happen as normal this year, but the exact date is still up in the air because of the adjusted schedule.
Initial plans have the fair slated for a Friday, Saturday and Sunday stretch in late June. The specific dates are June 24-26.
Many of the finer details are still being left on the table for the committee to discuss further before reaching a final conclusion.
“One of the bigger line items is paying for fireworks,” Simcheck said. “Is it going to be worth the cost? The committee is still reaching decisions on what all they are going to have. This will be the first year we have really changed it and this is the basic framework. That’s kind of what we are leaning towards,” he said.
Another desire for Simcheck is to help bring in some new members to the fair’s committee. Any community member interested in becoming involved with the panel can contact the Rocky Grove Volunteer Fire Department at 432-3962.
