Troutman happy with fair

The Iredell County Agricultural Fair is nearing the end of its run this year and, for the most part, local residents are giving it high marks.

“It’s good for the area and good for the town,” said Sid Bayard, owner of Papa’s Pizza, which is just down Main Street from the Iredell County Fairgrounds.

Bayard said he sees a slight boost in business during the fair week but not enough to get too excited about.

“Most people who come to the fair eat at the fair,” he said. “And that’s the way it should be. It’s part of the fair experience.”

And if estimates by the fair’s organizers are correct, a good number of people will enjoy the “fair experience” this week.

Fair Manager Jim Head, from the Kiwanis Club, estimated that if the weather held out, more than 50,000 people would pass through the gates at the fairgrounds this week.

With nary a drop of precipitation in the forecast for at least the next day or two, that prediction should not be too lofty.

“The fair normally is what we use to break the long summer drought around here,” said Troutman Town Manager David Saleeby. “But this year, I don’t even think that’s going to work.”

Indeed, there has been at least some rainfall in the past several county fairs.

“Last year, we got some pretty good rain,” Head said. “And we still had 48,000 (people at the fair).”

And if his numbers hold up, it would be mean a scattered crowd will visit Troutman this week that is about seven times the population of the town.

“I think the fair helps put Troutman on the map in Iredell County,” Saleeby said. “And we get a lot of good press because of it. It also helps foster good relationships with our neighbors, Mooresville and Statesville, and with other parts of the county.”

Summer Acres, who lives on Old Mountain Road on what she called “the edge of Troutman,” said the fair is the biggest thing in the town all year.

“It’s really all Troutman has in the way of anything big,” she said. “And I think it does help the town a lot.”

Acres says she brings her children to the fair several times during the week.

“It is a good fair,” she said. “We really like it. And it brings in a lot of people. And everyone seems like the enjoy it.”

But some think the fair might be attracting too many people.
Fred Coggins, 61, who lives south of Troutman, said he has has been coming to the fair as long as he can remember.

“I’m one of the few people who has lived in this county all his life,” said Coggins. “And I have seen this fair grow up and grow down and grow up some more. Right now, I just think it’s too much on the big side.”

But Saleeby and other town leaders think it’s just right.

“The entertainment has been exceptional this year, and the fair has been as good as it’s ever been,” Saleeby said.

He said a part of the fair that might be overlooked is the produce competition, which he and his wife entered.

“I didn’t do much with my green beans,” Saleeby said. “But my wife took third place for her pickled okra.”

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