Campaign begins to replace aging fairgrounds entrance
DOVER (WJER) (Sept. 19, 2023) – Fairgoers have been getting to see what the main entrance to the event could look like with their support.
Posters hanging around the fairgrounds show a red barn and pillars with white trim in place of the stone, stockade-style entrance along Tuscarawas Avenue. Dave McCleary is part of the committee trying to make it happen and gave a presentation to the media before the fair.
“It’s kind of our brainstorm that we’re just kind of working on. We’re gonna roll it out, like I said, next week, put up a couple of displays here and there to try to get some funding to try to do that. Also, the black fence they put over on Union Avenue, we would like to do that all the way down through as well.”
McCleary says the current entrance won’t last much longer without a complete rebuild, which would cost more than putting up a modern one celebrating the county’s agricultural heritage.
“Obviously, we want to do some infrastructure things. At some point, we’ll need to be able to use credit cards and wi-fi…so we need to get all of those kinds of things to make this something we can use a hundred years from now.”
For sponsorship information, email fairgroundsiniativecommittee@gmail.com. The group plans to apply for grants to help fund the project once it has a cost estimate and formal drawings.