To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Shannon Carter, Open Spaces Director
Prepared By:
prepared
Matt Bixenman, Fairgrounds Site Manager, Open Spaces
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presenter
Presenter: Matt Bixenman, Fairgrounds Site Manager, Open Spaces; Glen Poole, Open Space Operations Manager, Open Spaces
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Subject:
title
3:00 PM *2023 Arapahoe County Fair Presentation
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Fairgrounds leadership staff will provide the Board of County Commissioners with an informational preview of the Annual Arapahoe County Fair to be held July 27 - July 30, 2023. Staff request direction on continued support to provide each County employee with the option to request one entry ticket to the 2023 County Fair.
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Background and Discussion:
The first Arapahoe County Fair was held in 1906, along the banks of the South Platte River within present day Littleton. The Fair is one of Arapahoe County’s longest standing community traditions. The current location of the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds was commemorated in July 2006, marking the 100th anniversary of the Fair. The Annual County Fair is produced through the collaborative efforts of numerous County departments, County interagency partners, citizen committees, and volunteers. The Fair has become the County’s largest public event.
Mission
The Arapahoe County Fair provides a safe, educational, and family-oriented event that offers exceptional customer service and quality experiences and value to the attendees and the broader community.
Goals
The primary goal of the Arapahoe County Fair is to offer exceptional customer service and value to the community through a quality family-oriented event that are safe, diverse, educational, and fun.
• Be fiscally and operationally sustainable.
• Provide a safe and quality visitor experience.
• Support 4-H completion events and public competitions.
• Showcase the County’s diverse history, cultural heritage, and current services.
2023 Fair Hours (July 27-30, 2023)
Thursday- 4pm-12am
Friday- 4pm-12am
Saturday- 11am-12am
Sunday- 11am-10:30pm
Fair Organization (see attachment)
• Fair Sponsors: Provide executive level event direction, leadership, and strategic decision making. Serve as leaders on the incident command team.
• Fair Executive Team: Provides leadership and decision-making for general Fair planning, operations, event logistics, and public relations. Serves to support incident command team.
• Fair Core Team: Team of County staff, who collaborate on the core planning, programming, and operational efforts of the County Fair. Provide event plans and recommendations for Fair Executive Team approval.
Roles and Responsibilities
Open Space and Fairgrounds
Team of Open Space and Fairgrounds staff, who collaborate on the planning, programming, and operation of the County Fair. Provide event plans and recommendations for Fair Executive Team approval.
• Overall Event Planning and Logistics
• Entertainment
• Parking
• Ticketing
• Vendors
• Special Events
Communication Services
The Communication Services Team is responsible for the marketing, advertising and public relations activities associated with the Arapahoe County Fair. The Communications Team strives to build awareness of the Arapahoe County Fair, to increase attendance and to help ensure the Fair meets its cost recovery goals.
• Marketing and advertising
• Public sector event engagement and sponsorship
• Event public relations and media relations
• Crisis Communications
• Develop the post event marketing and advertising summary report
• Printing all materials and working with Open Spaces staff to produce event signage
4H, Fair Planning Committee
• BOCC-Appointed committee who plans 4-H competitions and public competitions (formerly Open Class). Writes and makes decisions around 4-H completion events and associated awards.
Livestock Sale Committee (Non-Profit):
• Coordinates and conducts the AC Fair Youth Livestock auction.
Emergency Management / Public Safety
• Fair management work with the Sheriff’s Office to provide a safe environment during the annual fair. The Emergency Response Plan (ERP) provides recommendations and guidelines to be followed during an emergency, critical incident, shift from event operations to public safety command, or specialized safety event. This plan aligns with other agency emergency operations planning, policies, procedures, and coordinates with the County’s Crisis Communication Plan. The ERP is supported by Arapahoe County Open Spaces, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, South Metro Fire Authority, Code 4 Security, and the Arapahoe Health Department.
Fair Layout (see attachment)
Fair Entertainment
The annual fair consists of a wide variety of entertainment to support the community and provide a safe, family-oriented event. The 2023 entertainment lineup includes:
• Carnival
• Mutton Bustin
• Petting Farm
• Heritage Hall
• Public Competitions
• 4H Exhibits
• Kids Corral
• Canine Stars
• Cirque Adventure
• Main Stage Music
• Pours on the Plains
• Boots Not Suits
• Fireworks
• Rodeos
• Motorsports
Fiscal Impact:
Revenue & Expenses
The Fair’s main revenue is generated from gate admission, vendors, liquor sales, sponsorship dollars, and carnival revenues. A gate fee is charged to all fairgoers over 36” tall. The gate / wristband fee includes both general admission and carnival rides. The County will offer an early discount through the month of June of $20, and then move to the $25 price point for the event.
The 2023 Fair budget is $895,000. Entertainment comprises roughly half of Fair expenses and operational expenses account for the remainder of the budget.
The following goals guide the financial success of the County Fair:
• Develop a low-risk Fair budget that is approved by the Fair Sponsors.
• Recover over 75% of event expenses through diversity of event revenue sources.
• Staff, contractors, and equipment support event operational plans, with additional capacity to address event challenges.
• Dedicate adequate staffing to support ongoing open space, parks, and trails maintenance and operations during the month of July and during the County Fair.
Alternatives: N/A.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☒Be fiscally sustainable
☐Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners continue to support employee ticket for the Annual County Fair.
Concurrence: Dina Baker, CSU Extension Director; Chris Henning, Communications Services Manager