Presque Isle fair deemed a success

PRESQUE ISLE – Organizers of any fair know that they have to prepare for the unexpected: Entertainers can cancel at the last minute, volunteer labor can dry up and showers can wash away crowds.

A little more than a week ago, the Northern Maine Agricultural Fair and Music Festival learned that trucks carrying midway rides and other equipment had been impounded on their way to the Presque Isle event because of alleged safety violations and other problems involving the hauler.

Lawrence Carr Leasing Inc. was the trucking company hauling the items.

And Lawrence Carr, owner of the company, also owns Carr Expositions Inc., the carnival ride vendor that contracted to provide 25 rides.

The fair opened, but at first without many of the usual rides.

Lynwood Winslow, vice president of the fair association, conceded on Saturday that officials did not anticipate having to scramble to find carnival rides at the last minute.

What they did expect, however, was exactly what happened. “This community has really stood by us, despite what happened with the midway,” he said. “They’ve been wonderful.”

The festival ended its nine-day run on Saturday.

“We have had 14 or 15 rides running for the past few days,” Winslow said. “Obviously, people are not thrilled about what happened, but the feedback they have given us about the events that we can control has been absolutely wonderful.”

Six days into the event, organizers reported that the fair was down about $9,000 in revenues compared with the same time last year. Final numbers are expected early this week.

Along with the midway, this year’s fair featured an expanded music festival. Two full stages and a mobile stage allowed multiple acts from different genres to perform at the same time on the fairgrounds.

The fair’s headliner act was country music artist Julie Roberts, who performed Friday evening at the Forum.

More than 800 people attended, a turnout that pleased fair organizers.