CRED

Fairs & Festivals
A Program for Event Assessment
and Improvement

How do others see our fair or festival? What are the event’s strengths? What are its weaknesses? What can we do to improve the event and entice people to come back again?

apple butter festival Fairs and festivals have grown in popularity in recent years. According to the Travel Industry Association, Americans are changing their travel patterns toward more domestic travel and trips closer to home. This trend increased by 8% for in-region trips in the first half of 2002 and is good news for the many rural West Virginia communities that host fairs and festivals throughout the year. The Fairs & Festivals program is designed to help communities evaluate their fair and festival events.

Anonymous visitors record their impressions of the fair or festival. Visitors explore the surrounding area and the fair/festivals grounds during peak periods of the event. The approach to the fair/festival grounds, the signage and advertising for the event, directional signs to the event, entrance signs, traffic patterns and road conditions, parking, vendors, food booths, activities and exhibits, security, and an overall impression of the event are just a few of the elements the visitors evaluate. Observations are recorded and then compiled into a summary report, including recommendations for improvement.