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Before opening day, a lot of work takes place to get ready
Canfield Fair
Gallery
By Elise Franco
Canfield
Getting the Canfield Fairgrounds ready for opening day is anything but effortless.
Though the fair doesn’t officially begin until Wednesday, signs of life on the fairgrounds were apparent months ago.
George Roman III, fair board director, said planning for vendors begins in February each year.
“That’s when the contracts are prepared and mailed,” he said. “We get them back by March 15, and between then and April, sometimes into May, we go through all of them.”
For six days, more than 1,000 food, ride and game vendors will fill 178 acres on the grounds. Many of them are provided by Bates Brothers Amusement and Bates Amusement Inc. Roman said 90 percent of vendors set up in the same spot every year, which makes getting ready easier on everyone.
“They know who their neighbors are,” he said. “They know where to go and how to set up.”
Lyle Carey, a Bates Brothers Amusement employee, said the crew spent Sunday tearing down about six rides at the Lorain County Fair and brought them straight out to Canfield on Monday morning.
Art Smith, who was visiting the fairgounds Monday, said once the rides are on the grounds, the crews work nonstop until everything is in place.
“It’s a big puzzle that they have to put together,” Smith said. “They got here at about 7 a.m. [Monday], and they’ll be working all night long until these things are done.”
Eric Bates, owner of Bates Brothers Amusement, said his company will bring in about 50 rides and 500 food stands, an action that takes organization.
“That’s the biggest thing at this fair: organization,” he said. “The most important thing is safety and procedure.”
Bates’ brother Gery Bates owns Bates Amusement Inc., which also provides many vendors throughout the fair. Both companies are from Wintersville, Ohio.
Eric Bates said state inspectors visit every ride and game on the grounds to ensure they’re up to code and working properly.
Roman said the food vendors are inspected throughout the week by the Mahoning County Board of Health.
Jim Steins runs a funnel-cake and elephant-ear stand and said making sure his trailer is ready for opening day is hard work.
“It’s a lot of cleaning, white-glove inspection kind of cleaning,” he said. “It’s not just pulling in and setting up.”
Steins said he and his crew arrived from the Lorain County Fair on Sunday night and began scrubbing the inside and outside of the trailer Monday.
He said he takes the stand to fairs six months out of the year and can’t imagine a better job.
“It’s in the blood,” he said. “When I make a funnel cake and hand it to a little kid, to see the grin on that kid’s face, I know why I’m out here.”