70th fair represents strong partnership
Fair organizers, fire company at ‘strongest point’ in fair history
The 70th Annual Oley Valley Community Fair kicks off Thursday, Sept. 15.
The Oley Fire Company and the fair organizers have served as partners since the fair’s start, and this year they decided to make life a little easier for many volunteers. A new walk-in refrigerator has been installed in the rear of the French Fry Building.
The purpose of the refrigerator is primarily to make better
use of space and to ease in the unloading of shipments, according to Fair President Kevin Bieber.
“All of the events are getting bigger and bigger. We needed space for food and bottled water. For past several years, every morning of the fair we unload by hand roughly a hundred 30-pound bags of French fries,” said Bieber, emphasizing on the manual labor involved.
The walk-in refrigerator was chosen for its design that will allow the French fries and other shipments to come in bins and then those bins can be unloaded with fork lift directly into the fridge. The milkshake mixes and soda were among some other heavyweight items mentioned.
“This is going to make life a lot easier for everybody that volunteers their time and is involved,” said Bieber. “We’re trying to make everything less labor intensive.” The new addition is expected to save on time and labor.
The year’s fair also marks a 70-year partnership between the fair organizers and the Oley Fire Company.
The fire company plays a key role in the fair according to Bieber.
“Everything we do for the most part — and when I say ‘we’ I mean the fair and the fire company — it’s a joint effort. We have a very strong partnership between the two organizations.” He said many people are involved in both organizations. “That makes life easier too, as far as communication goes and discussing needs and wants.”
Something not everyone may know — the fairgrounds are primarily owned by the fire company, with exception to a few parcels. There’s a long-term lease agreement between the fire company and the fair for the use of the fairgrounds during the week of the fair.
“As time has gone on, the partnership between the two organizations is probably at its strongest point that it’s ever been at,” said Bieber. He credits the success of the partnership to the people involved and the communication efforts.
The way he looks at it – the fair couldn’t run without the fire company and the fire company would have a tough time running without the fair.
“With the fair, the fair benefits both the fire company and the fair in itself,” he said, explaining how the fire company handles parking throughout the event weekend which this serves as a major fundraiser for them. Other funding made by the fair goes back into the fair and fairgrounds.
The structures that have been built over the years, such as the refreshment building and the French fry building, were put there to accommodate and be utilized by events throughout the summer.
“Things like the Peach Fest, the Apple Festival, and other events are just getting bigger and bigger. The building of those buildings was to make life a lot easier for everybody who is volunteering their time,” he said. The additions also helped to bring everything up to standard code for the State Department of Agriculture. “Volunteers are tough to come by. Anything we can do to make life easier for everybody is a win-win situation in the long run.”
Bieber has served as president of the fair since 2003. He looks forward to the event every year.
The Oley Community Fair runs 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the Oley fairgrounds.