PODCAST:

The Albemarle County Fair is scheduled from Thursday, July 30 through Saturday, August 1 on the grounds of Highland. Fair hours are 4:00 to 9:00 PM on Thursday, July 30, and 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM on Friday, July 31, and Saturday, August 1. 

TRANSCRIPT:

Dana Douglas:

You’re listening to WTJU Charlottesville. For Arts this Week, we chatted with Jason Woodle about the Albemarle County Fair, which will be hosted at James Monroe Highland, July 30 through August 1.

Jason Woodle:

My name is Jason Woodle. I’m the marketing and events manager at James Monroe’s Highland, and I’ve been at Highland for a little over a decade now, and during that time I have had the joy of working with the Albemarle County Fair Board, because Highland does host the Albemarle County Fair every year.

Dana Douglas:

So, what makes the Albemarle County Fair special?

Jason Woodle:

There’s a lot that makes the Albemarle County Fair special. We are primarily an agricultural fair, so you’re not going to see Ferris wheels or Tilt-A-Whirls. What you are going to see is animals, lots of animals, and of course we still have the cotton candy and the funnel cake and all the great eats that you have at a county fair. One thing that’s different, of course, is that it’s being hosted by a historic property. Highland is actually an academic unit of William and Mary, and so we focus on education. Being an agricultural fair, we want our fair goers to learn while they’re attending. Of course, having fun is important as well. In addition to group of livestock that’s being shown and then sold by local members of the community, we also have probably one of the best home arts sections of any county fair that I’ve ever been to. It is comprised of submissions from your prized tomato, that apple pie recipe that your grandmother made, jams, jellies, homemade brewed beer, artwork. There’s a lot that is submitted, hundreds of entries every year, that’s submitted by our local community, and they get ribbons. It’s a really exciting and unique part of the Albemarle County Fair.

Dana Douglas:

Is there something new or different at this year’s fair that you’re excited about compared to previous years?

Jason Woodle:

Yeah, so, well, there’s always livestock, and that changes every year. So, one year we may have 30 rabbits that are being shown, the next year to be 20 chickens or so, so every year it’s always something new. I know we have a lot of sheep this year, which means a lot of very adorable, cuddly animals. So livestock is always different depending on what year it is. What I’m super excited about, and this is actually the second year that we have sort of changed the way we interact with community organizations at the fair. We started this last year, and I’ve been actively reaching out and partnering with nonprofits, local government agencies, even state agencies to come out and exhibit at the fair. So, you may walk in and you may see the SPCA, or the Boys and Girls Club, or region 10 or even the Marine Corps recruiter. We have a large number of exhibitors who will be coming to the fair, and really they just want folks to come and see familiar faces and new faces that are in their community, so they can interact.

Dana Douglas:

Do you have a favorite element of the fair?

Jason Woodle:

I am particularly fond of the funnel cake. Really, the food is fantastic. It’s always good to come out, and we’ve got some great food partners that we work with, whether it’s sweet treats or savory. I know we’ve got pizza coming this year. We have the lobster guy. Actually, also this year we are going to, for the second year in a row, we’ll be hosting the Virginia 250 mobile museum, and that will run concurrently with the dates of the fair. So, beautiful mobile museum. It’s a quad expandable trailer that will be stationed in our main parking lot, and that will be there from 9:30am to 4:30pm on each day of the fair. You don’t have to go into the fair to see it, but it will be there, so for fair goers it gives a little bit more to view and to visit at the fair.

Dana Douglas:

If someone is planning to spend a day at the fair, would you give them any advice on what to pack or what to expect for most of their visit?

Jason Woodle:

I would definitely recommend bringing some sunscreen. Being that this is a late July, early August, it’s probably going to be hot. There’s plenty to drink and eat for purchase at the fair. Please recommend bringing a water bottle, maybe bug spray, but it’s not that buggy up there. Of course, you probably want to pack cameras, so you can take home some pictures of your kids enjoying all the wonderful cuddly animals that they have. Really, just come with an appetite to learn and to have fun and to really enjoy what the community, our community, has to offer. I’d also like to thank not only the Albemarle County Fair Board, who, this is made up entirely of volunteers who work throughout the year to put the fair together, but also a number of our sponsors. We have a significant number of community sponsors who actually contribute to making the fair happen.

Dana Douglas:

For listeners looking to attend the Albemarle County Fair, more information can be found at highland.org. Arts This Week is supported by the UVA Arts Council and Piedmont Virginia Community College. PVCC Arts presents a rich array of dance, music, theater, and visual arts programming. Learn more at pvcc.edu. For WTJU this is Dana Douglas.