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Letter To The Editor:

The Okeechobee County Fair Association would like to address the citizens of Okeechobee concerning the situation with the American Legion Fair.  We would like to clear up some of the rumors and misunderstandings that have been circulating.

Our contract with our present amusement ride provider requires that we protect the fair’s dates of operation as outlined in the Florida Statue 616.13.  This is the law that governs chartered county fairs.  This law states that no amusement rides shall be operated within five miles or thirty days of the dates of a chartered county fair. This is a legal issue. The Florida Legislature passed this law. We have a contractual obligation in this matter. We are not in a position to break this law. 

The American Legion has stated that they are “grandfathered in”.  Since the Florida statue that governs fairs and amusement rides makes no mention of any grandfathering in, this is not possible.

The Okeechobee County Fair Association did write a letter to the American Legion in 2007 giving them permission to operate their fair through their advertised dates which did encroach upon the thirty day protection period. This was our initial year and the only year that this has been a problem.  The County Fair Board gave approval for the 2007 year only.  During the last years, the American Legion has ended their fair prior to the thirty day limitation. 

The American Legion changed the dates of their 2010 fair from January 28th - February 7th, which did not infringe on our thirty days, to February 4th - 14th, which did fall within the thirty day window.  Their original date was posted on numerous web sites and the local papers.  The American Legion also expanded the number of days of their fair from seven to ten this year.  Last year’s dates were January 26- February 1st, seven days, which did not infringe upon our legal window of thirty days.  The dates were changed without regard to our position as the chartered fair of Okeechobee County.  This year’s ten days does violate Florida Statute.

The Okeechobee County Fair Board was presented with two options from the Florida Department of Agriculture: 1) To not allow the American Legion Fair to operate their amusement rides at all or 2) to allow them to operate their amusement rides up to the thirty day limit.  The board chose to allow them to operate up to the thirty day window.  This provided them with six out of the seven days of their normal fair schedule.  The Board feels that this was the best solution for both parties and fair to everyone involved.

The County Fair feels a great obligation to provide the best county fair to our citizens. We have legal contracts and obligations that we must fulfill in order to bring high quality entertainment and amusement rides to our area.

We all need to work together to ensure that these situations do not arise in the future. We appreciate everyone’s support and hope to continue providing “Home Town Family Fun”.

Yours sincerely,

The Okeechobee County Fair Association