Albany Spring Fair a smash hit with fun for everyone in an unusual year

This year’s scaled-down version of the Albany Agricultural Show, the Albany Spring Fair, still put smiles on thousands of faces. The Albany Agricultural Society made the decision to host the fair after it was forced to cancel the regular show because of uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. While smaller in size, the fair at the weekend still had some big-ticket attractions to draw families, and sideshow alley was as bustling as ever. The Midnight Express, which is billed as the fastest ride in Australia and travels 16m per second, visited the show for the first time and gave adrenaline lovers something new. Entry to the show was free this year, and AAS president Rob Wright said an estimated 15,000 people attended across the three days. He said the feedback from everyone, both attending and trading there, had been fantastic. “The atmosphere was great, and most people understood that we had to have a few COVID-19 plans in place,” Mr Wright said. “The fireworks were amazing both Friday and Saturday night, and sideshow alley went off with an absolute bang.” The launch of the Albany Central Markets at the pavilion was also deemed a success and will now happen every weekend. Mr Wright said the free entry definitely made a difference. “The free entry made more people come, and there was feedback from people that they liked that, and it showed in the stallholders and sideshow alley, where people spent up because they had those extra dollars,” he said. “The big difference this year is that people came and went and came back, some even three or four times — it worked so well. “If we had funding so we could keep the society going, then we would have free entry every time. “The only reason we normally charge is because it costs a huge amount of money, even for toilets and toilet paper and cleaner — we have to pay for that.” AAS intend to bring back the Albany Agricultural Show in 2021.