Tickets on sale for the 2012 State Fair

Several months ago, the future of the State Fair was uncertain. Not only will this year’s fair take place, but tickets are now for sale.

August 21, 2012; 10:10 AM • by Nathan Cushing

Update #2 — August, 21st 10:10 AM

Tickets for this year’s State Fair of Virginia are now available. The annual event will be held from September 28th through October 7th at The Meadow Event Park in Doswell, VA.

Single admission tickets range from $8 – $12. Family and season passes are also available.

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Update #1 — July 9th, 10:50 AM

The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation will be an equal partner in running the Virginia State Fair. Last week, the Farm Bureau announced that it will partner with Universal Fairs, the company based in Tennessee which recently purchased the Fair at auction last month.

“Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and Universal Fairs have put together a partnership that we feel will help retain and grow the agricultural component of the fair,” said VFBF President Wayne F. Pryor in a statement. “Universal Fairs has a proven track record of putting on successful fairs in several locations around the country. We are very excited and look forward to working with them for many years.” The partnership has been named Commonwealth Fairs and Events LLC.

The group has scheduled a fair to run from Sept. 28th through Oct. 7th.

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Original — May 23rd, 11:23 AM

The man who won yesterday’s winning bid to purchase the Virginia State Fair, Mark Lovell of Tennessee-based Universal Fairs, said he intends for the fair to return on September 28th. “We love the fair and I think…no one around here needs to worry about it,” said Lovell, addressing the media yesterday afternoon.

Lovell said he intends to open the 331 acres at the Meadow Event Park for ten days later this fall, running from September 28th – October 7th. “We’re going to put on a fabulous 10-day event,” said Lovell. “We have a lot of experience running fairs. We’re very good at it, and we’d like to make them clean, safe, and family friendly.”

Lovell’s winning bid was $5.35 million, nearly the amount the State Fair of Virginia paid for the Meadow Event Park property in 2003, but will end up paying a 6% commission (just over $320,000) to Motley’s, the local company that organized the auction.

The sale must be approved by a federal bankruptcy court. A hearing is scheduled for later today.

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