Tennessee firm drops fair plan

The Tennessee company that had hoped to run a 10-day fair at the Richmond Raceway Complex next month has canceled its plans.

The company, Fair Nation Inc., and Henrico County couldn't agree on a security plan, company manager Philip Downing said yesterday.

He called Henrico's demands unreasonable but would not elaborate.

"The people at RIR were great; really, everybody in Richmond was very courteous and professional, even the people we disagreed with," Downing said.

Deputy County Manager Randall R. Silber said Henrico had proposed to charge the fair company for county employees assigned to make sure the fair was safe and secure.

Silber said the charge was similar to what the county charged the State Fair of Virginia when it operated at the racetrack. But he said that for security reasons, he could not elaborate on exactly what the county proposed.

The cost was based on police, fire and EMS officials' estimate of the number of people and pieces of equipment that would be needed for the 10 days of the event. That estimate reflected factors ranging from the times of day the fair would be open, the attractions available and the fact that summer visitors to the fair might be at a greater risk of heat exhaustion.

Fair Nation had hoped to run its event from July 17 to 26. It was sued this year by the State Fair of Virginia for trademark infringement because it had been marketing the event as the "Richmond State Fair." After a settlement last month, Fair Nation changed the typography and wording for its marketing material for the Richmond fair after earlier dropping the word "state" from the name of the event.

The Tennessee company approached raceway officials about holding their event at the complex when they learned the State Fair was moving to a new site starting this year. The State Fair will be held Sept. 24 to Oct. 4 at its new site at the Meadow Event Park in Caroline County.

The company operates about nine events a year, including the Alabama State Fair, the Tupelo Fair in Mississippi, the Ostrich Festival in Chandler, Ariz., and the Bossier City State Fair in Louisiana, Downing said.

Contact David Ress at (804) 649-6051 or .