Sonoma Marin Fair

State budget crisis jeopardizes many small fairs in 2012

At the Solano County Fair, the state budget crisis will not put a crimp on this year's county fair, running through Sunday. But it will take a big bite out of next year's operations, fairgrounds general manger Mike Paluszak said.

Even if just a few small fairs close next year, the effects will be felt throughout the 78 fairs in California. With fewer fairs, shared costs, such as insurance and horse-racing expenses, are expected to rise.

"Fairs have to be examined as a whole, with the understanding that anything that impacts one has a ripple effect on all," said April Mitchell, Alameda County Fair marketing manager.

Fair-based businesses and attractions like carnival rides rely on a healthy fair circuit to stay in business, said Steve Chambers, the Western Fairs Association executive director whose career spans back to the 1980s.

Fairs, Chambers said, also celebrate the accomplishments of ordinary people, whether it's in livestock breeding, agriculture, photography or even in text-messaging contests at the Marin-Sonoma County Fair. And despite growing urbanization in larger counties, the charm of an agricultural fair is still a powerful draw, he said.

The state cuts translate into a loss of about $107,500 for Solano's fair next year, Paluszak said. That amount is part of the fair's overall $3.2 million budget so "it's a relatively small amount, but it's still $100,00 and we're going to have to replace it with new revenues or make cuts," Paluszak said.

Solano County fair officials will start to put the 2012 budget together in September and will, over the course of the next few months, determine how to make up for the shortfall. Solano fair officials are also trying to bolster attendance after cutting horse racing from the county fair's annual line-up in 2010. Last year's attendance dropped 28 percent.

Contra Costa County's fairgrounds in Antioch will see a $207,000 hit -- approximately 20 percent of its budget, said Chief Executive Officer Lori Marshall.

One For The Book: Sonoma Marin Fair 2011

The name of this blog comes from the book that we have good intentions about writing, about escapades of border collies and sheep....that are memorable enough to be called "one for the book". It will also contain memories and updates of dogs, sheep and people, past and present. Please do not copy photos, videos, or text from this blog without permission. All material is (c) copyright. . All the livestock winners are listed on the fair's website with some great photos of kids who work very hard with their stock. Take a look! These kids are the future of farming and will face challenges in animal agriculture in the future that we can only dream of. No animals, no sheep dog trials; think it over, folks....it's not just about the Ugly Dog Contest in Petaluma! The RESDA sheep dog trial is held in the back of the fairgrounds, in a very small horse arena; the size of the arena does not make it easier - only more tricky! It is an annual challenge to see which of the local handlers are up to the test on the course. Luckily the weather cooperated better than that last two years when the temps have hovered around 100 degrees. Last Sunday it was mild in the low 80s, and there was a pleasant breeze. The consistent white hair sheep from the Spencer ranch provided the challenge on the course. My goals going in, were to have fun, remain as quiet as possible on course, have fun, respect my dog, have fun, enjoy myself, have fun, stay focused and calm and quiet with my dog, and have fun! Coal can be a bit creepy and sticky at times so I wanted to avoid that. We've been working some exercises to keep him engaged with his stock and I think it has paid off a little bit. We had a smooth opening and good flow going but in the tight arena I couldn't get the fetch straightened out, alas. The turn around the pen and the lines to the two panels were fairly good. Some handlers had difficulty approaching the second panel, when their sheep ran back to the hay used for setout, but Coal and I handled that OK which made me quite happy! Then we came to the chute. We ex-agility folks all joked on the walk-thru, about how we had to do two front crosses (or two blind or rear crosses, or one of each) on this course the way the handler's position was prescribed for the chute. That comment certainly broke some tension in the handler's meeting! The chute was close to the rail located opposite the spectators.

Chase's Calendar of Events, 2011 Edition

Chase's calendar of events 2009

Chase's Calendar of Events 2009

Eccentric California

Weekend Adventures in San Francisco and Northern California