The scent of strawberry cotton candy married with hay and mud-covered pigs will likely be absent from Albemarle County this summer.
With organizers of the Albemarle County Fair still struggling to find suitable land, the lead organizer says it’s “highly unlikely” there will be a county fair this year.
“Bottom line is: We have not found a location for this year,” said Rob Harrison, the fair’s president. “So we’re not going to be able to have a fair.”
It’s also unclear whether there will be a county fair in future years.
Even with mid-week rain, last year’s annual fair attracted more than 10,000 people — up about 20 percent from 2009. However, the owners of Bundoran Farm, where the fair had been held for more than 20 years, announced last year that they would no longer be able to offer their land as fairgrounds because of plans to develop the property.
Fair organizers have been trying to find a new, permanent location but have hit dead ends.
“We’ve been looking for a spot for years,” Harrison said. “If we can’t find a permanent place, we’re not going to have another [fair], I don’t think.”
Fair leaders have considered numerous prospects, including public and private property in Albemarle, but nothing has panned out, he said.
Organizers have been hoping to find a permanent site in Albemarle that consists of at least 60 acres, according to Alison Dickie, who helps handle public relations for the fair.
“And by permanent,” Harrison said, “I’d say 20-plus years.”
Organizers say they’d also like the land to be relatively flat and near Charlottesville, in addition to being easy for attendees to access from a major highway.
One reason it appears the hourglass has run out: Organizers would need to obtain special-use permits from the county, which usually takes a few months. Additionally, Harrison said, there would have to be a safe way for patrons to enter and exit the site, which could require approval from the Virginia Department of Transportation.
“You can’t just find a field and go have at it, usually,” Harrison said, adding that it can also take a lot of time to acquire tents, vendors and entertainers. “We start planning the fair in January, and we haven’t done anything.”
A fair committee has been eyeing the Biscuit Run site in Albemarle — about 1,200 acres purchased by the state in late-2009 for use as a park. But Harrison said he’s unable to rank the odds of the Biscuit Run tract eventually becoming the new home of the county fair, though discussions are ongoing.
Those with suggestions for a new fair site can contact Harrison at 242-4996 or robh@fsr1.com.
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