Agricultural Development Director Kelly Young used the opportunity of the annual conference to update attendees on “initiatives of interest to trade fairs undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and Markets,” said Director of Public Affairs Jora Shubi. Elsky said.
passport program
The convention was held less than two weeks after New York Governor Kathy Hochul's State of the Union address, which included the County Fair Passport Program, a campaign created to encourage summer fair fans. . “The Passport Program was first announced in the Governor's 2024 State of the State address and its goal is to increase visitor participation at New York State's county fairs and local fairs,” said Schwielski. said. “The Ministry of Agriculture and Markets will design, print and distribute an agricultural fair passport booklet that will encourage participation in county and youth fairs in the state by allowing fair-goers to collect stamps with each visit. This initiative builds on the state's efforts, under the direction of the Governor, to further grow county fairs, which are the cornerstone of agricultural education for youth.”
After the convention, Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball explained: The Governor has taken it a step further with an exciting new County Fair Passport program that will help bring in more visitors. Our county fairs also provide opportunities to improve youth and agriculture programs at our fairs, including the Great New York State Fair. ”
The Passport program was warmly received by convention attendees, who saw it as not only much-needed support for the state fair, but also a practical approach to building on the foundation already established by NYSAAF members. “This is an opportunity to create new fair junkies,” said NYSAAF Executive Director Marc St. Jacques. “I think that's a good idea, I'm a big junkie too. People like going to fairs, it's fun. There's always a great network at trade shows, there's at least four or five conferences a year. That's where we share ideas. The Passport program facilitates all trade shows.”
But increasing the state's level of industry cohesion wasn't the only positive marketing news Secretary Young announced at the NYSAAF convention. In addition to introducing a variety of new agricultural initiatives and programs for youth, Young also discussed a statewide marketing program that allocates $10,000 per county fair to strengthen its social media presence. . “The Department of Agriculture and Markets will provide grant opportunities of up to $10,000 per fair that can be used for marketing, promotional and educational activities,” Schwierski said. “This will be released for use this fair season. This funding to individual fairs will help promote all fairs in the state with the goal of increasing fair attendance this summer. This is in addition to a $1 million statewide marketing campaign conducted by the department to support the Department.
She went on to say, “The state understands the importance of all trade shows and their important role in educating young people and all New Yorkers about the agricultural industry. We will strengthen our trade show promotion and marketing. By doing so, we hope to expose even more people to the local fair tradition and contribute to raising awareness of agriculture in New York.
While the details of these two marketing plans are still being finalized as of this writing, she said the intentional goals are: The state has injected $25 million in capital funding since 2016 to support infrastructure updates at fairgrounds, but it also provides direction and calls for more collaboration to grow all county fairs across the state. This new marketing support from the government is important to promote this approach. ”
News that the state is refocusing its efforts on the trade show industry as a whole, as well as the needs of individual events within the network, galvanized attitudes at the convention. “New York's fair industry is strong,” St. Jacques said, noting that the 2023 record-breaking State Fair was a rising tide that lifted all boats. “A fair doesn't just take place. It requires a team of dedicated professionals and volunteers. Last year, the attendance at most of the fairs was high, and the attitude at the convention was also very optimistic. Weather We can't control 85% of our actions, but we can control 85% of our actions, so we got very creative. We came out of COVID-19 much stronger.”
New entertainment/lack of carnival
All 53 trade shows participated in this year's convention, but the number of participants was higher because it was concentrated in Syracuse. The total number of participants, including exhibition exhibitors and other trade fair partners, exceeded 500 people. “More entertainers participated in the entertainment showcase,” he said. “There's a lot of new entertainment coming up. County fairs are increasingly booking more entertainment, especially walking and music.”
There was also an influx of exhibitors from carnival companies, a trend that responded to the state's lack of middlemen.Carnivals are becoming rarer. [in New York],” he said. “Carnival will probably be about half as big as it was before lockdown. This is probably one of the biggest changes to the fair, and not much has changed at the county fair. Some Trade fairs were either held without a carnival or had to be rescheduled.”
With fewer intermediary providers, piecing together routes is a challenge. The fair network was tested because county fairs were shorter and narrower in scope than the state's major fairs. “During the trade show that route is emerging and becoming more difficult. The same is true for these new carnival companies as well as new entertainers. “One of the biggest things is the labor shortage, which is hurting carnival companies.”
What are the most noticeable trends in trade show exhibits? Online ticketing systems. More and more trade fairs are increasingly offering pre-sales online. Fairs are getting more kiosks and scanners and no more ticket booths . This is a trend that all carnival companies are pushing and it's no longer just for large fairs.”
The fair may have had a successful season in 2023, but the fair is also paying more attention to the rest of this year. “Trade shows are looking to increase revenue during the off-season. More trade shows are taking advantage of winter warehouse rental space or booking off-season events. I have come to see it as such.”
Perhaps the most exciting change at this year's NYSAAF convention is the youth movement. The Empire State's trade show industry is fighting back against an aging industry at the grassroots level. “There were a lot of young people at this convention. In the trade show industry, young people used to be people under the age of 60. However, the number of people under 40 is increasing, and trade shows are attracting young families. We're very happy to see that number increase.”
He added that for the first time, the president, first vice president and second vice president are women under the age of 40. “This has been a gradual movement over the last 10 years, with younger people and more women coming into the fair industry. It's a trend. It's happening nationally as well.”
It is also a trend reinforced by supportive state governments, which see trade fairs not only as interconnected but also as an important component of the agricultural industry. “The New York County Fair provides a great opportunity to reach thousands of New Yorkers with a growing interest in learning about agriculture and introduce young people to our farmers, producers and animals.” Mr. Ski said. “It's a foundation of agricultural education for these young people, so they get interested in agriculture and eventually go into agriculture as a career.” We believe that county fairs are an important part of agricultural education. , ultimately seeing it as a pipeline for agricultural labor. ”
The new officers sworn in at the 2024 NYSAAF Convention are: Chairperson: Julia Reynolds (Washington County Fair). First Vice President Lauren Delaney (Saratoga County Fair); Second Vice President: Lisa Jackson (Otsego County Fair); Third Vice President: Rachel Risk (Lewis County Fair); Past President: John Craft (Columbia County fair).
