French fries, funnel cakes, milkshakes, and more. When last month's Solanco Fair was essentially canceled, the yearlong wait to enjoy the treats was extended for another year. Those who planned to attend the fair were disappointed. The organizations that prepared and sold the treats were dismayed.
"There are a lot of nonprofits whose fundraising is done through the fair," said fair board president Robert Lowery. "These nonprofits do good work, and we want to support them." He explained that food and beverages sold on the three days of the fair provide the majority of the annual budgets for those groups. Thus, the fair board went back to the drawing board.
"When we looked at the (livestock) auction, we didn't want a lot of people to come in and hang out, so we provided food basically just for the exhibitors and bidders," Lowery said. "We asked, 'Everyone wants fair food, so why don't we do an event in October where everyone can get it?'"
Thus it was decided that the Solanco Fair Association will hold a Fair Food Day at the Solanco Fairgrounds, 172 S. Lime St., Quarryville, on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Only cash will be accepted for payment. The event will primarily be takeout, but some seating will be available on-site. The Kreider Building and the adjacent structure will be open for seating, and the milkshake stand will be located nearby and not in its usual location. The fair kitchen in the Hoffman Building will be open for food service only; seating will not be available there.
The organizations and their offerings will include Eastern Star of Quarryville, subs and beverages; Farm Women No. 15, funnel cakes and beverages; Solanco Fair kitchen, chicken potpie, chicken corn soup, and beverages; Solanco Fair dairy bar, milkshakes; Quarryville Lions Club, fries and beverages; and Wakefield Lions Club, burgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, onion rings, pork barbecue sandwiches, and beverages. All proceeds from the food sales will go to the nonprofit organizations.
Typically, the dairy bar is staffed by several local nonprofits, who share the proceeds, but the logistics of scheduling them were complicated, so the fair board opted to provide its own volunteers, Lowery said. In fact, milkshakes were not originally part of the menu.
"We weren't going to do milkshakes, but that was the first question people asked," Lowery said.
Proceeds from the dairy bar and kitchen will go to the Solanco Fair Association.
"We're very fortunate that we didn't have a lot of expense by not holding the fair," Lowery said. The premiums awarded to winning exhibitors are provided by the state, not the fair board. This year's premium amounts are still undetermined, as the state has not released the funds. "We'll send checks for premiums and the livestock auction when it all clears," Lowery added.
Fair Food Day will be held rain or shine. Attendees are asked to follow social distancing and wear masks as directed by state guidelines. All food service workers will wear personal protective equipment and follow state protocols. Large sneeze shields will also be set up to protect workers and customers.
"We're just happy to do this for the community. Nobody on the fair board wanted to cancel the fair, but we did it for the safety of the community," Lowery said. "Hopefully next year we'll be back to normal and we'll have a normal fair."
Prepackaged quarts of chicken corn soup and chicken potpie may be ordered by calling Anna Mary Glick at 717-786-3503 or Karen Kofroth at 717-587-0769 by Wednesday, Oct. 21.
For more information about the Fair Food Day, readers may follow "Solanco Fair" on Facebook or email info@solancofair.net.
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