Maine state fairs face more attendees with fewer workers, volunteers

Because the gates on the Topsham Truthful opened Wednesday morning, distributors had been readying their cubicles whereas a band tuned up on the stage. It was the calm earlier than the storm as employees and volunteers obtained prepared for an additional busy day on the week-long, annual agricultural occasion.

After two years of cancelations and downsizing because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maine’s agricultural festivals are again with a bang, due to larger-than-expected attendance. And whereas that could be excellent news general, truthful organizers should now address an absence of employees and volunteers.

About 60 volunteers sometimes set up and work the Topsham Truthful, in accordance with Kathi Yergin, the truthful’s second vp. This 12 months, she mentioned, there have been about 40.

It’s a statewide concern, in accordance with Barry W. Norris, government director of the Maine Affiliation of Agricultural Festivals.

Paid employees, he mentioned, are sometimes international seasonal employees, who could be onerous to come back by relying on modifications to immigration legal guidelines. 

Norris mentioned his actual concern is with native volunteer assist, the newest casualty in an general decline in volunteer work he first observed in native hearth departments.

“Volunteerism, I believe, is missing throughout the board,” he mentioned.

The Yarmouth Clam Pageant, which made its comeback in July, was staffed partially by volunteers from about 30 completely different nonprofits. Jeanette Gilmore, co-owner of Smokey’s Nice Reveals, which offers amusements on the clam pageant and different occasions all through Maine, mentioned in July that carnival rides and meals distributors needed to have a smaller footprint this 12 months. 

Gilmore mentioned she often counted on 55 employees returning for the summer time season, however this 12 months she needed to accept solely 20.

Even the Fryeburg Truthful, which runs within the fall, noticed fewer volunteers in 2021, in accordance with Rachel Andrews Damon, the truthful’s spokesperson. 

Whereas she didn’t have an actual quantity – saying, “We had been down a bit” – she famous that no important modifications got here because of volunteer shortages.

Norris and different truthful organizers and employees may solely speculate as to the reason for the scarcity, with opinions starting from an absence of labor ethic to flagging curiosity in agricultural occasions in a digital world.

Maine’s agricultural festivals aren’t the one ones short-staffed. The state’s unemployment price in June was a mere 3%, whereas the nation’s unemployment price in July was 3.5%, leading to employee shortages throughout a spread of industries.

In the meantime, attendance at Maine’s agricultural festivals is predicted to stay excessive. Damon mentioned the Fryeburg Truthful might be working as deliberate, from Oct. 2-9, and he or she expects an excellent turnout.

“We now have quite a lot of loyal followers,” she mentioned.

On the Topsham Truthful Wednesday morning, Brian Gould, 56, was sharpening the outside of his fried dough sales space. He mentioned the truthful was packed Tuesday, regardless of heavy rains.

“It was fairly good,” Gould mentioned. “I hope it’s nearly as good as we speak as yesterday.”

Different distributors and truthful organizers agreed that it was remarkably busy, and the expectation is that closing ticket gross sales will quantity within the tens of 1000’s, as normal. 

Organizers of the Bangor State Truthful, which lately made headlines for a scaled-back providing this 12 months, are already staging a comeback, in accordance with Norris.

Bangor’s truthful this 12 months didn’t embody the same old agricultural element, partially because of outdated livestock barns and different assist constructions being dismantled, Norris mentioned. He added that the State Division of Agriculture is working with truthful organizers to make sure that livestock returns to Bangor in 2023.

Within the meantime, Norris mentioned, Bangor did properly this 12 months regardless of missing the agricultural present.

“They did document numbers with their carnival and demolition derby,” he mentioned.

Norris mentioned festivals statewide did unexpectedly properly in 2021 since most festivals had been canceled for the earlier two years because of the pandemic.

“Individuals had been inside for 2 years, and in 2021 they got here out in droves,” he mentioned.

Yergin mentioned in a typical 12 months, attendance in Topsham is as excessive as 80,000, however in 2021 the truthful’s attendance topped 100,000. This 12 months, organizers anticipate a standard or above-normal turnout by the point the truthful ends on Sunday.

Leon Brillant, the truthful’s president, mentioned he didn’t have a ticket sale depend for Tuesday, however mentioned turnout was excessive.

“Despite the fact that it was raining, we did fairly good,” he mentioned.

Organizers on the Fryeburg Truthful reported no scarcity of attendance final 12 months. Damon mentioned in a typical 12 months, the truthful often has about 170,000 ticket gross sales and in 2021, the truthful hit that concentrate on.

“We had an excellent 12 months,” she mentioned.