Madison County officials tie fair funding to matching sponsorships from local businesses | syracuse.com

To entice local businesses to support the Madison County Fair, local officials have created a way to make donations go farther.

The Board of Supervisors has approved up to $25,00 in funding for the annual event in Brookfield, which will be held July 8 to 11, 2010.

Fair organizers will receive their first $10,000 immediately for attractions and promotions. But the remaining funding will be delivered in conjunction with matching monetary donations or in-kind services from local businesses.

County leaders said the new plan was devised to encourage new streams of revenue for the fair, which has struggled in recent years with attendance and participation.

After the 2008 fair brought in half the expected revenues, Madison County supervisors said they might cut the annual $25,000 payment to the fair. They decided to give it one more shot and appointed county historian Mary Messere as fair director to oversee the operations in 2009.

Messere added new events for the fair’s 170th anniversary year, including a 5-kilometer run, medallion hunt and pushball tournament, which drew an estimated 16,000 and 18,000 visitors, more than tripling past performances.

Organizers say this year’s event will be even bigger. In January, the fair contracted with Main Event Amusements of Solvay to provide an expanded midway with at least a dozen mechanical and inflatable rides, traditional carnival games and popular fair cuisine for the annual event.

For more information, visit www.madisoncounty-fair.com.

via blog.syracuse.com