To the editor:
Every year I get excited to see the fair in town again and every year without fail I get thoroughly disappointed. There seems to be fewer and fewer rides to ride on and the ones that are there look like they are pieced together from numerous other rides.
In addition, the price for entrance along with everything else is continually increasing, when in these economic times we should find ways to make it easier for folks to enjoy this event. Seven dollars per person just to come into the fair, this is outrageous when you compare the prices of other local fairs.
I researched and found out that the entrance price for both the Houlton and Bangor fairs is $10, but this price also includes all rides. The price for a child’s ride in Presque Isle is $4 and an adult ride is $6. I think this is outrageous. Especially, when you consider, even on the days it should be busy when you walk around the fair is not crowded at all. Most rides are idle and if they are going at all there are only one or two people on them.
The Northern Maine Fair Association should be looking for ways to give our community a deal, not drain our citizens to make a profit. Our seniors should be given a senior discount every day of the fair, not just a break one or two days. They have probably been coming to the fair for decades and most of them are on a fixed income and deserve a break.
Additionally, I understand having gimmicks to draw folks into the fair, but what is the deal with the Active Duty Military Day? Twenty years ago when the Air Force Base was here that was probably a great deal, but the folks from Ft. Drum N.Y. or Hanscom AFB Mass. are not going to come to get a discount at the fair. This is a bogus deal; make it a real deal like giving military retirees or maybe go really big and make a Government Employee Day — federal, state or local, if you can show a government ID you get a discount.
Let’s make this fair something for everyone to be able to participate in and enjoy. Let’s make it a yearly family event and something to be able to remember for years to come.
Karl J. Saucier
Caribou
