Record Attendance/Increased Security: Industry Issues Take Center Stage

at FFF Convention

By: Timothy Herrick

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Record attendance, upbeat attendees, and a focus on security – the annual convention of the Florida Federation of Fairs (FFF) reflected a rebounding fair industry. Among the many issues collectively addressed was devising effective responses to an uptick in violence at some Florida events.

“We had a great convention, said Terry Atchley, president of the Hardee County Fair and the outgoing president of the FFF. “It brings to mind how we as an industry have come from when we were struggling to survive COVID and fairs were shut down. We've had a strong comeback, higher participation in our agricultural programs, and beauty pageants. Our members had great fairs, it was a really positive convention and it was huge.” Strong Season

The FFF represents about 48 fairs, and registered attendance for the 3-day convention exceeded 550 according to Dan West, Executive Director, FFF. “The fair season was very strong with several fairs with record breaking events,” he said. “This was the third convention post-COVID for the Florida Federation of Fairs. The convention had great attendance. Everyone had a great time after a successful fair season.”

As outgoing president, Atchley decided to forego modesty and risk braggadocio when he selected the theme –“The Greatest Fairs on Earth” –“I wanted to beat our chests because we are a great organization,” he said. “I've personally been involved with our fair for 15 years, and we were a small rural fair. There are a lot of things that we as a small county fair have done that I learned through years of attending the convention. We are blessed with quality education programming and an active membership. We are among greatest showmen and women on earth.”

The networking and fellowship of the organization and its annual May convention has been an invaluable resource for the Hardee County Fair through the years and during his presidential tenure, Atchley pushed that role forward through both the annual gettogethers and a revamped website. “The Federation has a strong foundation and now we've just been able to get a much better website to promote our services and make it more accessible and easier to use for all our fairs. It's those resources between the fairs.”

While there are high-profile fourth quarter fairs in the Sunshine State, the vast majority of the FFF member-fairs are first quarter events. The 2023 boom in attendance and spending experienced by these fairs reflect the full resumption of normal activities, not the least of which was travel and the annual migration of Snowbirds swelling Florida's population which has seen an upswing in citizenry.

Riots & Ruckuses

But this uptick in fairgoer turnout amid a healthy state economy was undermined by outbreaks of teen violence and heightened security responses by some of the most high-profile Florida fairs in the industry, including the Miami Dade County Youth Fair, the South Florida Fair and the Florida State Fair. “It was a very strong topic at the convention,” said Atchley. “When you are dealing with masses of people at a large fair, security and safety are top priorities.”

According Hal Porter, General Manager of the Citrus County Fair and incoming FFF President, the most telling sign that the outbreaks of fights and melees afflicting many fairs in recent years was the abundant audience for a the Crowd Control class, the second time in a row. “It had huge attendance, it was our second time having the seminar and it had much more attendance this year. That's directly related to the sign of the times.”

Porter pointed out that while Florida media emphasized the youth aspect of the story, “I think it's wrong to isolate just teens. There are different groups involved and their goal is to create a disturbance organized through social media. The world has changed, but the fair still has the reputation of being a safe place for family fun and education. Our challenge is trying to be true to our mission while bearing the increased cost of security.”

A subject covered in the seminar and discussed throughout the convention was the cost of security. Most fairs have already invested in metal detectors, fencing and other security hardware but when it comes to the recent spate of unruly and violent incidents, personnel makes the difference. Local law enforcement are almost always the go-to security force for fairs, “but the rate of pay has increased for off-duty police. We spent more than $4,000 on extra police this year compared to previous years.”

Continued on page 58

Record Attendance/Increased Security: Industry Issues Take Center Stage at FFF Convention

Armed Fairgoers

Another area of security concern for Florida Fairs was not just fairgoer fights but weaponry. A new Florida law, due to go into effect July 1, allows gun owners to carry a concealed weapon without a license – previously, gun owners who wanted to carry their licensed gun had to obtain an additional license which included training and background checks. .

Most Florida fairgrounds prohibit armed fairgoers by County ordinance, which Atchley said was grandfathered into Concealed Carry Law that goes into effect this summer. “You no longer need a permit to carry a gun, but they are still prohibited at fairs. There is some confusion about this, so it was thoroughly discussed. There will be different actions at different fairs in how they address the issue within their communities.”

Florida Agriculture Commissioner

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson attended the FFF convention, and also served as keynote speaker. address covered “the importance of Florida Fairs and the impact they have on the public,” according to West.

Porter called the commissioner “a friend of Florida fairs who served on his local fair board. He has the political experience to help our industry.”

He added, “We had representatives from Florida 4-H and Florida FFA speak to the convention body on how fairs make a difference in the lives of the agricultural youth of Florida and how we can all work together to make these youth organizations stronger.”

The FFF convention also displayed a reinvigorated partnership between fairs and their carnival partners. According to Porter, Simpson announced that a proposed Inspection Fee increase by Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, that had been put on hold due to COVID, will not go into effect after all. The regulation would've made Florida the state with the highest ride inspection fees in the nation.

“Everything we do as a fair is in partnership with our carnival companies,” said Porter. “The problems they are having with labor and the H2B workers are not going away and as an organization we need to support them.”

The convention featured 12 Showcases and 115 Trade Show Booths (2022: 100 booths) as well as Serve Safe classes and an IAFE Institute of Fair Management Class on Competitive Exhibits. In addition, the 2023 Hall of Fame Recipient was Dawn Rowe of the Osceola County Fair, and the 2023 Associate of the Year was Eddie Porcelli of Spaghetti Eddie’s.”

Even as the FFF and its members navigate the array of economic and social issues impacting the industry, the convention and the cadre of first quarter fairs augurs well for the upcoming season. “The attitude was very positive and happy,” said West. “The Florida Fair season was very strong. We all see that Florida is continuing to grow as people move here every day. We know that Florida Fairs are providing a great product for the public and we will continue to see increases at our fairs.”

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August 22-24, 2023

Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Bonita Springs, FL

DEADLINE FOR THE FALL ISSUE OF THE FIRECRACKER IS

OCTOBER 1st SEND NEWS TO floridafairs@gmail.com

IAFE Chair

Jennifer Gieseke, CFE Washington Town & Country Fair

Washington, MO 63090-

First Vice Chair

Jo Reynolds, CFE

Warren County Fair, Indianola, IA

Second Vice Chair

Ken Karns, CFE

OC Fair & Event Center

Costa Mesa, CA

Treasurer

Jaime Navarro

State Fair of Texas, Dallas, TX

President & CEO

Marla Calico, CFE Springfield, MO

Past Chair

Gene Cassidy, CFE

Eastern States Exposition

IAFE Immediate Past Chair

Jeremy Parsons, CFE

Clay County Fair, Spencer, IA

State & Provincial Associations Representative

Steve Patterson, CFE Indiana Association of Fairs

Brownsburg

Canadian Association of Fairs

Jeff Strickland

Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver

Directors at Large from Associate Members

Jay Strates

Strates Shows, Orlando,. FL

Directors at Large

From Associate Members

Sandy Class

Tavern at the Park, LLC

Apollo Beach, FL

ZONE DIRECTORS:

1. Andy Imperati

Dutchess County Fair, Rhinebeck, NY