Advance Publications of Perry County celebrates annual county fair
For many, mid-August is a time when plans for autumn begin to take shape. It’s also a chance for communities to celebrate summer one last time. In Perry County that celebration is the annual fair. For local communities the Perry County Fair Special Section, produced and distributed by Advance Publications of Perry and Juniata Counties, is the quintessential guide for the weeklong event.
Advance Publications of Perry and Juniata Counties prints and inserts the special section into its three weekly newspapers serving Perry County: the Newport News-Sun, Perry County Times and Duncannon Record. The papers are delivered to subscribers and available at newsstands the Thursday prior to the start of the fair. “Our company’s newspapers first did a fair section in 1978, which was the eighth year of the current or modern Perry County Fair,” Publisher Curt Dreibelbis said. “The special sections have ranged in size and presentation over the years, from broadsheet to tabloids and back to broadsheet.”
Work on the publication began in earnest earlier this spring. Staff writer Kristie Smith and Editor Gary Thomas worked closely with the Perry County Community Fair Board to coordinate editorial content. As for securing advertisements in the section, Dreibelbis said it wasn’t difficult to find support. “Advertisers want to support the fair and, in turn, support the county itself,” he said.
The finished product, the largest special section published by the company all year, becomes the essential “everything-you-need-to-know” resource for the fair. Content includes a behind-the-scenes profile of new board members, a completed schedule of events with dates and times, recipients of the annual Perry County Fair scholarship program, and a biography of the varied performers set to entertain through the week.
To Dreibelbis, the product also fulfills the commitment newspapers make to their communities. “It is important for us to associate with the fair and we are proud to produce this vehicle to publicize the event,” he said. “The Perry County Fair is a celebration that unites all corners of the county and draws attention to farm and civic organizations and the people who make those groups work. A good community newspaper knows what is important to the area because the public makes clear its preferences. Thanks to the local businesses advertising in the Perry County Fair section, we are able to present the information and support the hard-working volunteers of the fair.”