County fair season is in full swing with the conclusion of the Otsego County Fair on Sunday and today's opening of the Schoharie County Sunshine Fair and Chenango County Fair.
But next year, there will be an overlap between the Otsego and Schoharie fairs. The Sunshine Fair is expanding from six to nine days and will start the same weekend as the Otsego event.
Otsego County Fair officials said Monday they don't know what impact the change will have, even though the two fairs have some of the same vendors.
"We're not nervous about that yet," said Judy Harris, Otsego County Fair manager.
Drawing from the Capital Region, the Sunshine Fair attracts a total attendance that in some years is more than twice that of the Otsego County Fair.
Several vendors who exhibit at the Otsego County Fair participate in the Sunshine Fair.
Harris said she did not have finalized figures on attendance at the Otsego County Fair. But she said it would be better than the 31,000 to 32,000 who attended last year.
Another unknown is whether an overlap between the Otsego fair and the Sunshine Fair will have an impact on attendance.
"I don't think it will make that big a difference. We don't draw that heavy out of Schoharie County," Harris said.
About a decade ago, the Chenango County Fair and Otsego County Fair were held during the same week.
The fairs changed their schedules after it became clear they were impacting each other's business, Harris said.
The Sunshine Fair in Cobleskill and the Chenango County Fair in Norwich run from today until Sunday.
The Delaware County Fair in Walton wraps up the area season when it opens Monday. That fair runs until Aug. 16.
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