McMillen says
Big names boost fair attendance



ALTAMONT — Last week’s 114th tri-county fair was a success, say officials, although the final attendance numbers won’t be available for several weeks.
"We know we had a fantastic year," said Marie McMillen, the Altamont Fair’s director. She also said that the fair’s board of directors will re-examine two issues that drew criticism from village residents and fair-goers before next year’s fair.
"In a big organization, when the train starts rolling down the tracks, it’s hard to do a reversal," McMillen said of the decision to close Gate 4 on Grand Street. The Enterprise received several letters to the editor, complaining that the original entrance, flanked by two recently-refurbished Victorian buildings, was closed.
This year, the fair board placed three people at each gate — one ticket seller, one ticket taker, and one security guard, McMillen said. In previous years, each gate had a ticket seller, but, she said, "This year all tickets were ripped, and that takes another person."

Ripping the tickets upon entrance prevents reuse of the same ticket, she said. The fair tried to recruit volunteers to staff the Grand Street gate, she said, but couldn’t find anybody at the last minute.

The fair kept the nearby Altamont Elementary School parking lot entrance open; it has served for years as an entrance for those with handicaps, McMillen said.

In a related change for this year’s fair, the board stopped its CDTA (Capital District Transportation Authority) bus service from Albany and Schenectady to the fairgrounds. Last year, the service brought in 972 people, all of whom were dropped at the Grand Street gate, which inflated the number of people using that gate, a factor that contributed to the decision to close it, McMillen said.

She likes the idea of bringing people from the cities out to the country for the fair, and, after she got about 12 phone calls from people who had used the bus service in the past, she looked into the cost of it.
"I realized this was a good sponsorship arrangement," she said. Last year, the $8,000 cost of the bus service was split between the fair and CDTA; it was offered for free to riders.
"We’ll go back and review it because nothing is cast in stone," McMillen said of both the bus service and the use of Gate 4.

Overall, she said, the fair was well attended this year, which she attributes to an increased budget for advertising and entertainment. The fair’s two big acts, The Outlaws and The Jonas Brothers, drew crowds, she said, although the rain and wind on Friday night interrupted the Jonas Brothers’ show.
"The weather on Friday evening had a devastating effect," she said. Crowds of people had entered the fairgrounds on Friday, a night that usually lasts until past 11 p.m. at the fair, she said, "It was 20 after nine and people were leaving in droves." A surprise storm that brought strong winds and rain shut down the music on the main stage, turned off the rides on the midway, and stopped the Zoppé Circus in mid-performance.
McMillen expects that the board will try to bring in some big acts for next year, too, she said. Of this year’s increased budgets, she said, "We’re happy with what we’ve seen."