Williamson County Fair Wins Big!
The Williamson County Fair has been recognized as among the best anywhere in several categories, according to its peers at the state and international levels. The non-profit organization that operates the Fair each August recently won 10 separate awards from the Tennessee Association of Fairs (TAF) and the International Association of Fairs & Expos (IAFE), respectively. This year’s Williamson County Fair is set for August 5 -13 at the Williamson County Ag Expo Park.
In the IAFE Competitive Exhibits category, Williamson County’s Fair won the first-place “Best of Division” award for a Quilt Block Challenge that took place over two consecutive years – where dozens of participants created a community quilt by sewing quilt blocks using coordinating fabric swatches distributed at the 2014 County Fair. Quilts Chair Connie Little and Creative Arts Chair Beth DiMaggio led an effort to convert the more than 40 blocks into a one-of-a-kind quilt that was raffled off at the 2015 Fair. Those proceeds were used to purchase display cases for the Creative Arts Room at the Ag Expo.
“This quilt project was two years in the making, and really encompassed everything our Fair is about – history, local culture, artistic talent, community education and fun,” said Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson, chair of the Fair Board. “It was another example of the way fairgoers are introduced to the people and processes that are part of daily life in rural Williamson County, whether it’s agriculture or arts and crafts.”
On the state level, first-place awards in the AAA Division included promotional merchandise for a branded mason jar and the top prize for a scrapbook that documented all aspects of the Fair. Organizers earned second-place honors for the official Fair program and a pieced quilt designed and created by Kathy Kurlya, and third place for the website www.WilliamsonCountyFair.org.
At the International Association of Fairs & Exhibits Convention in Las Vegas, representatives of the Fair Board accepted the first-place trophy, as well as second-place awards for a unique and competitive participatory contest (sandwich cookie stacking) and a magazine ad. Third-place awards were for the Fair’s mobile website and newspaper ad.
“As a non-profit organization, the Fair is entirely a volunteer effort produced by people who care about our county, and want to preserve its history and culture and share it with others,” Anderson said. “The midway and the food and music and other great elements make it something we look forward to all year long.”
This is the 12th anniversary for the Williamson County Fair, which began its modern iteration in 2005. Directed by a Board of 25 area leaders and supported by 1,800 volunteers, numerous sponsors, its home county and surrounding communities, the Fair has grown each summer and now hosts approximately 200,000 attendees over the nine-day run. For more information, visit www.WilliamsonCountyFair.org.
