For nearly a century, the Upper Peninsula State Fair in Escanaba, Michigan has been one of the region's most anticipated events, bringing together over 75,000 attendees each summer to celebrate agriculture, entertainment, and community pride.
"Nowhere is the slogan 'Pure Michigan' more suitable than in Escanaba during the annual Upper Peninsula State Fair. Come experience 'Pure Fun, Pure Goodness, and Pure Michigan' at the Upper Peninsula State Fair – this year and every year!" Up State Fair Website
After challenges with their previous ticketing provider left the fair struggling with reliability and limited on-site support, leadership knew they needed a partner who could deliver a smoother, more dependable experience. They turned to Fairs.com, seeking not just a platform, but a team they could count on.
During the 2024 season, the fair's ticketing system failed to keep up during high-traffic periods, despite strong on-site connectivity. Long lines and unreliable reporting created unnecessary stress for staff and frustration for guests. Without consistent support or real-time insights, the team lacked confidence that their technology could handle peak demand.
Heading into 2025, leadership set a clear goal: stability, support, and simplicity. They needed a partner who understood the fair industry, could handle large-volume transactions seamlessly, and would stand beside them when gates opened, not just provide software.
The Fairs.com team worked closely with fair leadership to plan, prepare, and deliver a stress-free fair week from start to finish. The process started with a smooth onboarding experience, training gate staff, reviewing event setups, and testing connectivity ahead of opening day.
What set Fairs.com apart was its hands-on, human approach. Staff were on-site opening day, ready to help, troubleshoot, or simply reassure the team that everything would run smoothly. Even though there were no major issues, that visible presence made all the difference.
"Having staff on site for opening day was a game changer. Even though there weren't any major hiccups, there was also no stress, because it was evident that they stood ready to help with anything that may have come up."
Fairs.com delivered:
Beyond ticketing, the fair also leveraged Fairs.com's marketing and social media support, helping them meet key promotional deadlines and expand their reach during a busy pre-fair season.
"Outside of the ticketing element, the social media and marketing support was also invaluable. With such a small staff for the UP State Fair, it was wonderful to have an extension of ourselves to hit some of those marketing timelines we have previously missed." Sheila Krueger, Associate Director Delta County Chamber of Commerce / UP State Fair
The impact was immediate. The fair processed thousands of digital transactions without downtime, and gate staff reported a smoother, faster entry process throughout fair week. Fairs.com's team worked proactively, checking in daily, providing real-time reporting access, and helping the fair evaluate process improvements for the future.
The Upper Peninsula State Fair's story highlights the difference between buying software and gaining a true partner. After years of struggling with unreliable systems and limited support, the fair found stability, confidence, and collaboration with Fairs.com.
"Fairs.com truly cares about the fair industry and understands the things that set us apart from other sectors. They constantly work to make this crazy fair life run smoother." Sheila Krueger, Associate Director Delta County Chamber of Commerce / UP State Fair
With reliable technology, dedicated people, and a shared understanding of what makes fairs unique, the Upper Peninsula State Fair now runs with peace of mind, knowing their technology won't just keep up, it'll help them thrive.
`, }, { slug: 'trumbull-county-fair', fair: 'Trumbull County Fair', location: 'Cortland, Ohio', title: `A Partner at Every Gate: How Fairs.com Supported Trumbull County Fair's Digital Leap`, summary: `For its 2025 season, the Trumbull County Fair moved beyond a decades-old cash-only system and went fully digital for the first time, guided at every step by Fairs.com's hands-on support team.`, website: 'https://trumbullcountyfair.com/', logo: 'assets/case-studies/trumbull-county-fair-logo.png', hero: 'assets/case-studies/trumbull-county-fair-hero.jpg', heroAlt: 'Harness racing at the Trumbull County Fair', gallery: [ { src: 'assets/case-studies/trumbull-county-fair-1.jpg', alt: 'Events at the Trumbull County Fair' }, { src: 'assets/case-studies/trumbull-county-fair-2.jpg', alt: 'Trumbull County Fair midway' }, { src: 'assets/case-studies/trumbull-county-fair-3.jpg', alt: 'Crowds at the Trumbull County Fair' }, ], metrics: null, quote: { text: `This was the first year we could provide online tickets for our attendees and the ability to use credit cards at the gates. These options made our admission to the fair more streamlined and we were able to move people through the gates quicker.`, name: 'Barry Brown', role: 'Trumbull County Fair Board', }, timeline: [ ['May 2', 'Contract Signed & Immediate Onboarding Launch', `On the day the agreement was signed, onboarding began. Stripe integration, Box Office setup, ticket configuration, and full 2025 event creation were completed to establish their digital foundation.`], ['May 29', 'On-Site System & Operations Training', `In-person training provided for box office staff and leadership, including reporting education, gate app overview, and strategic gate setup planning.`], ['Jun 24–25', 'Full Gate Staff Training (2 Days On-Site)', `All gate workers were trained in person on scanning procedures, troubleshooting, and live-event workflows to ensure confidence prior to opening day.`], ['Pre-Fair', 'Infrastructure & Readiness Verification', `Wi-Fi connectivity tested, devices configured, and gate stability verified before launch.`], ['Jul 8–13', 'Fair Week, On-Site Digital Launch Support', `Full on-site support throughout opening week: real-time troubleshooting and operational guidance, daily reconciliation assistance, deposit and payout verification, performance reporting for leadership, and direct collaboration with gate teams.`], ['Post-Fair', 'Review & Expansion Planning', `Leadership reviewed sales performance and validated deposit reporting, reaching 100% transaction accountability and full confidence in their first digital year. Expansion discussions began for camping and vendor registration in 2026.`], ], compare: null, body: `The Trumbull County Fair in Cortland, Ohio is a long-standing celebration of community and agriculture, where tradition meets hometown pride. As one of the region's most beloved annual events, the fair brings together families, farmers, and local businesses for a week of exhibits, rides, and entertainment.
Heading into its 2025 season, the fair's leadership made a pivotal decision, to move beyond its decades-old cash-only system and embrace a digital future. It wasn't just about upgrading technology; it was about finding a partner who could guide them confidently through the transition and support them every step of the way.
For years, the Trumbull County Fair relied on a completely cash-based admission process with manual tracking and post-event reconciliation. While simple, it left leadership in the dark about real-time performance and revenue accuracy. Reports were often delayed by days, and discrepancies surfaced only after the fair was over, creating stress and uncertainty for both gate staff and board members.
As the fair prepared for its 2025 season, it made the decision to go digital for the first time. But modernizing operations meant addressing multiple unknowns: upgrading Wi-Fi, training staff, and ensuring reliable support during live fair hours.
The Trumbull County Fair partnered with Fairs.com to confidently enter the digital era, not just with powerful tools, but with a responsive, hands-on team guiding them every step of the way.
When the fair first reached out, they were simply looking for a POS system to process office credit card transactions. But after learning about Fairs.com's broader capabilities, including camping, vendor registration, and ticketing, the conversation evolved. During the on-site demo, the Fairs.com team met with the fair's president and treasurer, showcasing how flexible the platform could be. By the end of that meeting, leadership realized they could do more than just process payments, they could modernize their entire gate operation.
Fairs.com's onboarding and live support made the difference:
By the end of their first digital season, Trumbull County Fair wasn't just using a new system, they were using it strategically, guided by Fairs.com's support team to achieve the best outcomes for their operations.
In their first year with Fairs.com, the Trumbull County Fair's success wasn't measured just in transactions, it was defined by the steady partnership and support that guided them through every stage of onboarding, setup, and their first live digital fair. The timeline below outlines the key moments that built the fair's confidence, from early planning to post-fair review.
From the first onboarding call to the final reconciliation, Fairs.com's hands-on partnership turned Trumbull County Fair's digital transition into a confident, fully supported success story.
The Trumbull County Fair's first digital season was more than a tech upgrade, it was a true partnership. With 24-hour hands-on support, personalized training, and constant communication, Fairs.com turned a first-time digital rollout into a seamless success story. The fair entered the digital era with confidence, knowing they had a team behind the technology, every hour, every day.
"Harlee was a huge asset to us in the transition to Fairs.com and we look forward to working with her more in the future. She was available whenever we had questions or when a problem arose and always dealt with issues quickly. We look forward to many more years with Fairs.com and working with Harlee." Barry Brown, Trumbull County Fair Board`, }, { slug: 'st-clair-county-4h-fair', fair: 'St. Clair County 4-H & Youth Fair', location: 'St. Clair County, Michigan', title: `Rebuilding the Website Experience with St. Clair County 4-H & Youth Fair`, summary: `The St. Clair County 4-H & Youth Fair partnered with Fairs.com to turn a hard-to-navigate website into a modern, structured, easy-to-manage communication hub, delivered within 30 days.`, website: 'https://www.stclaircounty4hfair.org/', logo: 'assets/case-studies/st-clair-county-4h-fair-logo.jpg', hero: 'assets/case-studies/st-clair-county-4h-fair-hero.jpg', heroAlt: 'Aerial view of the St. Clair County 4-H & Youth Fair', gallery: [ { src: 'assets/case-studies/st-clair-county-4h-fair-1.jpg', alt: 'St. Clair County 4-H & Youth Fair' }, { src: 'assets/case-studies/st-clair-county-4h-fair-2.jpg', alt: 'St. Clair County 4-H & Youth Fair crowd' }, { src: 'assets/case-studies/st-clair-county-4h-fair-3.jpg', alt: 'St. Clair County 4-H & Youth Fair activities' }, ], metrics: null, quote: { text: `Working with fairs.com completely transformed our online presence. What once felt confusing and hard for our fair community to navigate is now a modern, sleek, and user-friendly website we're truly proud of.`, name: 'Chris Ruemenapp', role: 'Board Officer', }, timeline: null, compare: { cols: ['Focus Area', 'Before Fairs.com', 'With Fairs.com', 'Result'], rows: [ ['Navigation & Clarity', 'Information was hard to scan and locate', 'Clean structure with clear hierarchy', 'Faster access to key information'], ['Internal Updates', 'Feedback shared across multiple tools', 'Centralized, on-page commenting', 'More efficient collaboration'], ['User Experience', 'Outdated design, difficult to navigate', 'Modern, mobile-friendly layout', 'Improved usability for visitors'], ['Project Delivery', 'Unclear timelines and iteration cycles', 'Structured workflow with aligned feedback', 'Website launched in 30 days'], ], }, body: `
The St. Clair County 4-H & Youth Fair is a long-standing community event that brings together families, exhibitors, and local vendors for a week of tradition, entertainment, and agriculture. As a regional staple, the fair relies heavily on its website to communicate key details like admissions, schedules, and event updates to a broad audience.
With a growing need to keep information clear and accessible, the fair recognized that its existing website was no longer meeting expectations. Visitors struggled to find important details, and internal updates required unnecessary effort and back-and-forth.
To better serve both their team and their attendees, the fair partnered with Fairs.com to create a more modern, structured, and manageable website experience.
The fair's previous website contained all the necessary information, but it lacked clear organization and was difficult for users to navigate. Key details such as admission pricing and event schedules were not easily accessible, leading to confusion for visitors.
Internally, the team also faced challenges managing and updating the site itself. The existing website editor was difficult to use, often resulting in mistakes that were hard to correct. This made even simple updates more time-consuming and added unnecessary frustration for staff.
In addition, feedback and changes were communicated across multiple channels, making it difficult to clearly identify what needed to be updated and where. This resulted in:
Fairs.com worked closely with the St. Clair County team to redesign their website with a focus on clarity, structure, and ease of collaboration.
The onboarding process was straightforward, allowing the team to quickly align on goals and priorities. From there, the website was rebuilt with a clean layout and a clear information hierarchy, ensuring that visitors could easily find admissions details, schedules, and key updates.
A key part of the process was Fairs.com's built-in commenting feature, which allowed the St. Clair team to provide feedback directly on the website. By clicking anywhere on the page, they could leave comments tied to specific elements and even upload images or documents for additional context.
This streamlined approach to feedback reduced confusion, kept communication centralized, and allowed updates to be made more efficiently throughout the build process. The result was a fully redesigned website delivered within 30 days of the initial onboarding call.
Fairs.com transformed a difficult-to-navigate website into a clear, structured communication tool for both visitors and staff.
By redesigning their website with Fairs.com, the St. Clair County 4-H & Youth Fair gained a clearer, more effective way to communicate with their audience while simplifying internal workflows.
The combination of a structured site design and centralized feedback tools reduced friction for both visitors and staff. As a result, the fair now has a website that not only looks modern, but also functions as a reliable, easy-to-manage communication hub.
This project highlights how the right tools and approach can turn a complex, time-consuming process into a streamlined and collaborative experience, setting the foundation for future growth and continued success.
"The transition was incredibly smooth and the results were immediate. We've received so much positive feedback from our fair community about how easy the new site is to use. We couldn't be happier with the outcome and highly recommend fairs.com to any fair looking to elevate their online experience." Chris Ruemenapp, Board Officer`, }, { slug: 'driving-pre-sale-tickets-and-new-attendees-through-digital-marketing', fair: 'Columbus Italian Festival', location: 'Columbus, Ohio', title: `Driving Pre-Sale Tickets and New Attendees Through Digital Marketing`, summary: `How the Columbus Italian Festival increased pre-sale ticket sales by 48% and boosted social media engagement by 462% with a digital-first strategy and streamlined ticketing.`, website: 'https://www.columbusitalianfestival.com/', logo: null, hero: 'assets/case-studies/columbus-italian-festival-hero.webp', heroAlt: 'The Columbus Italian Festival', gallery: null, metrics: [ ['48%', 'rise in pre-sale tickets'], ['462%', 'more organic social posts'], ['861,512', 'paid ad impressions'], ['46.96%', 'email open rate (industry avg. 37.30%)'], ], quote: null, timeline: null, compare: null, body: `
The Columbus Italian Festival began in 1980, held at the Lausche Building on the Ohio State Fairgrounds. Today, the annual festival attracts over 35,000 visitors during a three-day celebration each Columbus Day weekend. Attendees gather to enjoy exceptional Italian cuisine, cultural entertainment, and the vibrancy of Italian heritage.
The event organizers wanted to lean into digital marketing to attract a new and younger demographic of attendees, but they lacked the expertise to get started and did not have dedicated resources to execute on it.
Long lines at entry points prompted the need to revamp their check-in process to enhance the attendee experience.
Fairs.com helped on three fronts:
Getting the job done meant:
A digital-first strategy boosted festival performance. The festival's shift to digital marketing strategies, including social media campaigns and targeted online ads, generated 861,512 ad impressions, a 46.96% email open rate, and a 462% increase in organic social media posts. These efforts boosted brand visibility and resulted in a 48% rise in pre-sale tickets, effectively engaging both new and returning visitors.
Online pre-sales enhanced entry and festival flow. The 48% rise in pre-sale tickets significantly reduced wait times at the festival's entry points. By encouraging online purchases, fewer attendees needed to buy tickets at the gate, streamlining check-in and minimizing congestion.
Marketing automation eased operations. By adopting digital marketing and collaborating with Fairs.com, the festival eased the workload on its volunteers. This streamlined approach allowed volunteers to focus on other event areas while automated tools managed social media, email blasts, and online ad optimization.
By the numbers:
The Columbus Italian Festival's successful integration of digital marketing and streamlined ticketing exemplifies how modern strategies can revitalize traditional events. By increasing pre-sale tickets and attracting a new wave of attendees, the festival has set the stage for sustained growth.
`, }, { slug: 'how-fairs-com-weather-proofed-a-world-afairs-attendance', fair: `A World A'Fair`, location: 'Southwest Ohio', title: `How Fairs.com Weather-proofed A World A'Fair's Attendance`, summary: `How A World A'Fair doubled pre-sale tickets and reached over 1.3 million people despite three days of stormy weather during peak festival hours.`, website: 'https://www.aworldafair.org/', logo: null, hero: 'assets/case-studies/a-world-afair-hero.png', heroAlt: `A World A'Fair digital marketing illustration`, gallery: null, metrics: [ ['2×', 'pre-sale tickets year over year'], ['1.3M+', 'people reached'], ['42.7%', 'email open rate (industry avg. 33.1%)'], ['30%', 'of attendees were first-time visitors'], ], quote: null, timeline: null, compare: null, body: `A World A'Fair has been a beloved tradition in southwest Ohio for 50 years, showcasing the diverse cultures of 36 countries through food and customs.
As Ohio's largest and oldest ethnic food festival, A World A'Fair draws thousands annually. Due to a necessary change in venue, they struggled to attract new attendees. The festival needed to broaden their reach while also informing their loyal fans to follow them to the location. Fairs.com was the perfect partner to help them.
Throughout the implementation, Fairs.com delivered continuous and personalized support. Fairs.com experts conducted onboarding sessions, guiding staff through the setup and integration of Meta, Mailchimp, and Spotify platforms, and were readily available to answer questions and troubleshoot issues promptly, ensuring a hassle-free experience for festival organizers. The full-service, hands-on approach allowed event organizers to focus on the operational aspects of their fair while entrusting Fairs.com with their marketing needs.
Fairs.com further enhanced the fairgoer experience by integrating marketing efforts with its digital ticketing system. Fairgoers could discover the event on social media, follow a link to learn more, and purchase tickets seamlessly, all in one session.
Despite three days of storms during peak festival hours, which usually reduce attendance by 15–20%, Fairs.com's comprehensive marketing campaign and presale offers enabled A World A'Fair to maintain consistent attendance levels, matching those of the previous year when the weather was excellent.
By the numbers:
A World A'Fair's success story demonstrates the power of digital marketing and the value of partnering with Fairs.com. Fairs.com was proud to have helped them achieve their goals and is excited for future collaborations.
`, }, ];