Manatee County Fair is not until January. But here’s a chance to get your fair food fix
For anyone missing the taste of a hand-dipped corn dog or other guilty pleasure served by concessionaires at the Manatee County Fair, Danny Alfonso has an invitation for you.
“The Flavors of Our Fair,” planned for back-to-back weekends starting Friday, Oct. 16, offers the opportunity to purchase fair food either through a drive up or walk up setting at the fairgrounds, 1402 14th Ave. W., Palmetto.
“If you choose to walk up, we will have picnic tables set up in the arena that will allow for social distance seating to enjoy your food,” said Alfonso, who was named fair manager in February. Alfonso replaced long-time manager, Dan West, who now heads the Florida fair association.
The event will be held Oct. 16 -18 and Oct. 23 - 25. Times for Friday and Saturday are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.- 7 p.m.
There is no charge for entry. The only thing you need to bring is a face covering and your appetite, Alfonso said.
Since March when of COVID-19 began spreading across the country, fairs across the United States have been canceled because of the pandemic, devastating many industries, including fair concessionaires.
“It’s been a tough year,” said Kelley Myers, who operates the Barbie’s Ice Cream concession.
Myers is the third generation of her family to work as a concessionaire, and is now in her third decade selling fair treats.
“I miss everything about what I do,” she said of the disruption caused by the pandemic, including not being able to see a customer’s face light up when she serves them frozen cheese cake dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts or sprinkles or an upside-down banana split.
It is concessionaires like Myers that Alfonso wanted to help.
“I have had vendors reaching out to me in the middle of summer. They let me know they were hurting,” Alfonso said.
Gate 8, off 14th Avenue West, will be open during “The Flavors of Our Fair” event. Those who want to park and eat on the fairgrounds will be directed one way, and those who want to drive through and go will be directed another.
Alfonso, 53, a Manatee County native, retired after 32 years with Frontier Communications, but has a long association with the Manatee fair.
“My wife, Kim, and I began helping in the livestock barn in the 1990s. Our son, Holden, grew up in the fair program and showed steers from when he was eight until he was 18,” Alfonso said.
In 2011, Alfonso became a full director on the fair livestock committee.
Asked whether there will be a fair when Jan. 14-24 rolls around, Alfonso said there are 11 different committees working on four or five different plans, and all of it is dependent on what the pandemic does.
“Public safety is part of the planning process,” he said, and that includes guidance from local government and the Centers for Disease Control.
“Each one of our committees has met and come up with several plans to address social distancing to provide the safest fair possible,” he said.
Alfonso attended the Delaware State Fair in July to see first-hand the steps that were taken to keep fair goers safe.
“We are planning to have a fair, but it all depends on what COVID is doing in January,” he said. “We are going to be ready for it, and if we can have a fair safely, we will.”
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
