After being put on hold for a year, the recent 63rd annual Davis County Fair enjoyed a successful welcome home at its first permanent site.
Fair officials and the county planning office said most of the 10,000 exhibitors and visitors were pleased with the new facilities - a 58-acre site in west Farmington, adjacent to the county's new justice complex."I heard real positive feedback about the fair and the grounds," said Don Sides, fair manager. "Everybody loved the buildings, and they hope we can keep growing."
Sides said the comments relieved his fear that the fair wouldn't recover after last year's fair was canceled. The 1990 truncated event held horse and livestock competitions at the fair site and 4-H competitions in the Layton Hills Mall.
During this year's fair, the county planning office surveyed 84 people. When asked what they like best, 32 percent said the buildings and 23 percent the permanent site. Of those surveyed, most said the improvements or changes they would like to see would be a bigger fair, more advertising and pavement on the grounds.
Sides said the one thing that surprised him was seeing some of the same people at the fair several nights.
"I'd expect them to come just one night, but I did see quite a few people come back again and again," he said.
According to this survey, about 2,000 of the 10,000 people attending the event were participants.
Mike Wojtowicz, Davis County planner, said attendance picked up after 5 p.m. each night, with the largest crowds arriving between 7 and 8 p.m. He attributed the surge in visitors to the rodeo, which started at 8.
He added that the horse events were well-attended.
In the future, the fair board plans to plant lawn, provide better parking facilities and build new animal barns, Sides said.
"We plan on doing a little bit each year so we don't have a tax increase," he said. "No one wants one of them."