The merry-go-round, carnival ride of the Richmond Fair -- will it happen or won't it -- continued yesterday.
Hours after saying the fair was off, organizers reversed course to say there is still a chance it could happen, only later than planned.
Fair organizer Philip Downing said last night that if plans fall into place, a 10-day Richmond Fair can begin as early as next Friday, July 24, in the parking lots at The Diamond on North Boulevard.
"If we can coordinate the schedule here at The Diamond with the available dates of the carnival company, we will be able to pull it off without a problem, assuming that the permit process moves along and security is provided by the police," Downing said.
Downing added that he hired certified security guards "in the event the police fell short of the manpower that they needed to cover the assignments for security."
It is also possible that the fair could begin July 31.
The fair is being organized by Tennessee-based Universal Fairs Inc., which conducts fairs around the country.
The Richmond Fair was scheduled to run tomorrow through July 26. Over the weekend, however, the Richmond Police Department told the fair operator that a permit would not be issued.
Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood said Monday that the organizers of the fair reached a compromise with the police department to allow the event to begin Sunday, two days later than planned. Downing said the two reached a verbal agreement.
But Mark Lovell, president of Universal Fairs, said Downing had not received the permit by noon yesterday, hindering the company's ability to "unequivocally walk up there and start riding rides and selling corn dogs and having fun Sunday at 12 o'clock."
Yesterday, the fair's Web site, www.richmondfair.com, advertised that the fair had been canceled. By late afternoon, however, the Web site said, "Fair dates pending . . . stay tuned."
According to the Web site, the Richmond Fair will have a petting zoo, live music and a circus. Admission will be $8 for adults and $6 for children; it doesn't include rides.
"I'm not an economics major, but I know if you give somebody a good value, everybody will be happy. That's all we're trying to do. Various branches of y'all's government made it overly difficult to do business," Lovell said.
"Some of the people we dealt with the city were forthright . . . and fair and they didn't mislead you down an endless road. In other branches of the government, they need to be exposed for who they are. Whether they are dishonest or whether they are incompetent. It's one of the two; I don't know which one it is," he said.
Officials from Mayor Dwight C. Jones' office had no comment.
Contact Jeremy Slayton at (804) 649-6861 or jslayton@timesdispatch.com.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement