Fairgrounds Heritage Preservation Group

As many of you may already know, the Fairgrounds Heritage Preservation Group, Inc. has submitted a proposal to the Fair Board to manage this year\'s Tennessee State Fair. Tennessee is still a strong agricultural state, ranking 3rd in the number of farms and the number of beef and dairy cattle in the U.S. Middle Tennessee and the counties surroundin... g Davidson are the largest farming areas of the state and also have the highest number of horse farms. By "putting our money where our mouth is" so to speak, we hope to demonstrate to the Metro Council, the Fair Board, and the Citizens of Davidson County that a great and profitable State Fair can be held at our Fairgrounds. To that end, we have proposed to bring back the competitions and events that were eliminated from the State Fair last year. These events included many agricultural, livestock and other popular competitions. Premiums paid out were reduced by 80% and even Buck Dozier commented that it would be "tough to get them [the agricultural participants] back." But we plan to do just that-- not only bring them back, but also to promote more participation. We also propose to work close with the FFA and 4-H to renew their participation in the State Fair, as well as other organizations connected to agriculture in our state. Our plans also include strengthening the concept of this being a State Fair by promoting the Fair and participation across the entire state. Another neglected aspect of a true state fair is entertainment, and it\'s a shame that we here in the "Music City" don\'t have the best entertainment of any state fair in the country! Our plans include at least two top-tier entertainer concerts with artists of national prominence. We already have people talking to not only members of the music industry, but to entertainers themselves and we feel confidant that we will be able to have blockbuster concerts during the State Fair. We have many other ideas for improving and putting on a great Tennessee State Fair, and with the contract to put it on, we will ...Read More