The Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair is one of the biggest and most anticipated summertime events in southeastern Manitoba. It wasn’t always that way. In the early nineties, the community fair took place in late summer and mostly revolved around horticultural pursuits. Attendance had been dwindling for years.
Jeff Stott had a vision for something potentially much grander, and after considerable preparation, the Olde Tyme Country Fair premiered in 1996 with a brand new concept. The event, which is run entirely by volunteers and not directly affiliated with the town, has steadily grown in scale and ambition ever since. Indeed, the fair was nominated for the first time in 2016 for a Manitoba Country Music Award in the Event of the Year category.
The fair doesn’t just appear Friday afternoon out of the ether. An extraordinary amount of manpower and planning goes into ensuring that the weekend goes off smoothly. In this issue of The Citizen, we’ll examine what goes on behind the scenes—and what you can do to help safeguard the fair’s future.
How Much Does It Cost?
For sake of reference, the first fair in 1996 cost approximately $15,000. Although that event seemed to blow the doors off Main Street (at least that’s how this writer remembers it), this is a rather quaint figure in retrospect. The 2016 fair cost in the neighbourhood of $350,000.
Next, let’s compare the costs of getting through the gate. In 1996, fair entry was supposed to be $2 per person. (In actuality it turned out to be free, due to a mistake made on the advertising.) Nowadays, the fee has risen to $15. But the rising cost of entry certainly hasn’t been proportional to the rising costs of operating the fair. The fair costs 23 times what it used to, but the price of admission has only increased 7.5 times from the early years.
“The gate does not cover the cost of this event,” Jeff Stott explains. “Business, private, and multilevel government sponsorship is the absolute most important thing happening to ensure the cost of this event stays low. Without their support, which can be as much as $150,000, the cost at the gate would certainly double.”
On average, the fair committee estimates that between 40 and 50 percent of the fair’s costs are covered through sponsorships. Truly, the fair wouldn’t be possible without support from local businesses, individuals, and government.
It is important to note that because the fair is not operated by the town, very few tax dollars help pay for it. Simply paying one's taxes does not support the fair.
So how far do all those $15 gate fees actually go?
Stott gives us a detailed rundown. “We are required by law to have a certain amount of security personnel and that works out to about $2 of each fair pass. Portable washrooms cost another $1 per pass. Fireworks cost another $2. Infrastructure required to put on adult and children’s shows cost another $2 per pass. The acts themselves cost $5 per pass. These are the big [expenses]. We’ve just eaten up $12 of the $15 pass without the numerous smaller yet equally important costs.”
Despite this, it’s not uncommon to find locals who hem and haw over the cost of bringing their families.
“If you are looking at it by a multiple of six because that’s what your family is, we get that,” Stott concedes. “But in the world of the six-person family, everything that is multiplied by that number gets to be a lot of money. The individual cost is outweighed greatly by the value.”
Indeed, let’s consider taking a trip to see a movie in Winnipeg. A two-way drive from Niverville to St. Vital Centre, assuming average minivan mileage in Manitoba (55 cents per kilometre, according to the CAA website), will cost $39.60. General admission for two adults equals $21, and for four kids under 13 another $34. That’s $62.15 after tax. Three regular drinks and three regular popcorn will run you another $27.12. So for approximately 90 minutes of entertainment, a family of six pays $128.87—or $101.75, if you leave off concessions. A family of six can get into the fair for $90 and enjoy an entire day of activities. No matter how you cut it, it’s a better deal.
“$15 to attend an event like ours is cheap,” Stott insists.
What's new in 2017?
The fair committee is constantly looking for ways to deliver more bang for their buck. Although no announcements about music acts are ready to be made (“We could tell you who and what they are,” says Stott, “but then you know what we would have to do to you”), for the first time this year the committee is partnering with Dauphin Country Fest to ensure that they can choose from the best acts available. It’s both a practical and economical solution to keep costs under control.
But we’ll just have to wait and see which performers they have in mind.
Stott says that another of the committee’s goals is to showcase more local talent. “Over the years, we have had many incredible acts, but one thing has remained consistent: like children enjoy the wrapping paper and boxes at Christmas more than the presents, people love to see their friends and neighbours put on a show.”
Stott reminds us that well-received acts like the flaming high tower dive and the wakeboarders were all first-of-their-kind performances in Canada. Without offering specifics, he teases that 2017 will be no different in terms of innovation.
He adds that Wondershows isn’t going anywhere.
“Wondershows is a partner in fun at our fair,” Stott says. “They are the best group we could have possibly had join our fair and provide thrills. But they are a private entity. They set their prices, plan their layout, and do a great job. They are fantastic to our community, but they are their own show.”
The Licensed Concert Area
For the first time last year, the fair committee licensed the concert area so that fairgoers on Saturday night could enjoy a few drinks while taking in the show. Many have asked how this experiment turned out and whether it will be a recurring feature of future events.
“The licensing of the concert area has proved to be less trouble and more positive than we expected,” Stott says. “We don’t see that getting smaller. It was fairly easy to manage, because we were uber-prepared and it has no financial downside. We will certainly offer it again if the town and province support us and if people respect it.”
What’s Going on with the Fireworks?
For years, Friday night of the fair ended with blackout fireworks set off from the elementary school grounds, within spitting distance of the expectant crowd. Unfortunately, logistics have forced the committee in recent years to look for alternate sites. In 2015, the fireworks were set off from the golf course. In 2016, the show launched from north of Third Street North, with large trees obscuring the view.
The fair committee isn’t happy about it either.
“The fireworks that were the Friday night anchor have been severely handcuffed due to new regulations and guidelines, and that has really hurt us,” says Stott. “The committee is totally disillusioned with any location for a fireworks show other than the school grounds. The only way to experience a good show is up close like we used to do it. It is not, and was not, our choice to change location of the fireworks. There are industry rules and provincial guidelines to follow and this is what caused the change. We are currently trying to strike a new deal that would return the show to where it belongs.”
Looking to the Future
The fair has always depended on an army of volunteers, from the planning stages to setting up, making sure every aspect of the weekend runs smoothly, and then cleaning up afterward. It can be a thankless job, but the fair would collapse without these tireless contributions.
“First we have planning,” Stott begins. “This is done by a group of about a dozen people. We get the job done, but would prefer to have twice as many heads and ideas around the table. Second, we have setup. This takes about a hundred people, minimum, to get it all done in the short window that the school division, highways department, and town allows us to take over the community. We have never had too many hands and look forward to having more. Third, operating the event. Ticket booths, food prep and serving, infrastructure setup, scheduling, and disaster control, to name a few… this takes a couple hundred people each day. We never have enough anymore and there is always some good citizen doing the work of two. Fourth, cleaning and teardown. For such a huge crowd in a small area, the mess is very manageable when everyone uses the refuse and recycle bins. And the stars of the show, the churches of Niverville, organize a mass cleanup and teardown each evening and remind us what many hands can do together.”
Stott adds that the committee is looking for volunteers in all four of these categories—and they’re looking for participation from all demographics of the community. Whether young and old, newcomer or long-time resident, the fair belongs to everyone.
“If you are incredibly philanthropic or know how to make people realize they are, or should be, we need you,” he says. “If you don’t take no for an answer and think that if we all do a little a lot will get done, ditto. If you know how to make people laugh, know who else can, or can plan an event that is funny and will keep people entertained, you’re hired. If you think the present committee is doing a terrible job and want to get rid of them, do something about it. If you think they are doing a fantastic job and want to join them, or that there is just too few of them and want to grab the rope and pull, you’re just the person we’re looking for.”
Volunteering for the fair means truly volunteering—there are no perks or pay, and every volunteer and committee member pays to get into the fair just like everyone else. Also, volunteers tend to be older. But Stott is hoping that younger people will take ownership of the fair in the coming years and get involved to make sure the Old Tyme Country Fair becomes a generational event.
“If you do nothing, that’s exactly what you’ll eventually get,” Stott says. “Because when you don’t take care of things, they usually wither and die. Without more volunteers, so will our community fair. It has happened before.”
If you’re interested in volunteering to help ensure that the fair remains a going concern, the committee is hosting an informational open house on Wednesday, February 8, at 8:00 p.m. at Hespeler's Cookhouse and Tavern .
“We are hoping to attract more committee members and create interest and awareness,” Stott says of the open house, which he says will be casual. “There will be no electing, nominating, or other strong-arm tactics applied.”
