LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The 2023 fair season may be out of sight, but it is still very much on the minds of civic groups here in Luzerne County for many reasons.
"Very heartbreaking to see the kids work so hard all year long to present their animals at the fair and a lot of kids didn't even get that opportunity," said Jennifer Hineline, an educator with 4H.
Storms came through the fairgrounds near Dallas not once, but twice last month and caused so much damage that the fair had to shut down early.
The early shutdown has a trickle-down impact not necessarily seen on social media.
"It's all about the service clubs," said Kelvin Swanger with the Lake Silkworth Area Lions Club. "The service clubs are the folks who own the fairgrounds. We make up the Dallas Area Fall Fair Incorporated."
The Lions Clubs, Kiwanis Club, Rotary and more sponsor the Luzerne County Fair and depend on it to fundraise for projects they offer all year round.
"It's substantial because we only do three fundraisers a year and this is one of the three, you know, that are important to us," said Joe Boris with the Dallas Lions Club.
"Maybe we won't be able to feed as many children," said Beverly Atherholt with the Dallas Kiwanis Club. "We really don't want to cut our scholarships. We don't want to cut out gifts for children at Christmas. So all of those things might be impacted."
Not to mention taking care of the expense of repairing the fairgrounds.
"There's a lot of work that has to be done. We're still waiting to hear on several aspects of what, what we can do and what we can't do. We're going to have to do some prioritizing," said Swanger.
Members from all the clubs put their resources together to hold a benefit concert to make up for the funds lost out on at the fair. It will feature TUSK, the ultimate Fleetwood Mac Experience, and take place at the Irem Pavilion in Dallas on Friday, Oct. 13.
"It has to be our lucky day," laughed Swanger.
If you want to learn more about the concert or purchase tickets, you can do so by clicking here.
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