Tioga County Fair — Local services in Town of Owego

I try hard to be honest in my reviews. I feel the fairgrounds did their best, however, I along with many others are disappointed over the derby and the price to get in. Update: Saturday update: There's a lot of unhappy people at the moment. I have a lot of derby friends that took vehicles down to run and they are very upset by the fact that their vehicles were stuck and that they were unable to participate. There's some drivers that are saying that they feel that they were cheated out of their chance to run. So......The big question is: Could the Fair Officials have payphoned it til another day? ??? With all the events that were planned, was there availability to???? Many people want to know. Friday-after it rained: The Fair people did their best to do what they could to accommodate people after the heavy rain. There was a nice variety of things to see and do. Unfortunately, the rain caused it's problems including parking issues. Do to all the rain I have to say that I along with several people I spoke to, did not understand why the derby was not postponed. While sitting in under the over hang, I listened to people grumbling about how disappointed they were over how muddy the derby ground was and the fact that there were drivers that were stuck and unable to participate. As I walked threw the fair grounds the venders and the ride people were doing their best to promote a positive atmosphere. Some people were laughing and seemed to be having a great time, while others were not. Me, however, I think an option should have been available: I have to say if your a ride person 15 dollars to get in was ok but I'm not. And I think because I wasn't one, I shouldnt have had to pay so much. I will be honest, there's people-witch I spoke to one- that was a senior that felt that they are to old to ride rides and that they shouldnt have had to pay $15 to just walk around. A couple families told me that they'd have liked a family price, but it wasn't available at the gate. I'm sure the fair people tried to make it affordable to everyone. However, I feel that I not being a ride goer,...

I cannot believe how disappointing my visit to the Tioga County Fair was! For 60 years I have attended this fair and have never seen such a poorly run event. Opening day at a fair is exactly that, the first day of the fair. I understand and expect dwindling numbers and participants because of various economic matters but this seems to be something more of a trend here. The set up of the entire thing was poorly done. Similar but definitely not very organized. The fair has always run Tuesday through Saturday. Workers came in Sunday and Monday to set up so on Tuesday everything was ready to go. The barns were pretty much empty. Hmmm. Lots could be said about that. And I can also understand (I guess but not really) not having the rides and games operational yet but NO FOOD??? Not even a cotton candy! But by gosh the beer tent was open! That was pretty much it. Sad. This was the worst part. At least there could've been food trucks ready. Why does everything seem so unprepared? It's a yearly event so it didn't just sneak up on you. I would join the committee but the politics involved is not inviting. Reach into your imagination, research the old fairs, remember this is a county fair and not just an Owego community day. You don't even offer a seniors day anymore. You called this a Family Fun and Agriculture day. Okay. There is no doubt it could have...

This little fair packed a "big punch." We had so much fun! We rode all the rides for one low price and the fried dough was delicious! The employees and Owego guests were very friendly. It felt like going back in time a bit... I noticed there was no garbage on the midway...very clean. I live closer to a big city and there is always lot’s of garbage on the ground and let's not even talk about the bathrooms. I appreciated “Owego’s Finest & Bravest” on site and am grateful for their protection. The only thing that was confusing; One food vendor did not have their prices listed. After we ordered cheese fries, (with very little cheese on them) the vendor said, "$8.00." The next night, (dressed differently) we asked what the price was as a test, and they gave a different price. This means that they could possibly be looking at, and then assessing the customer's wealth to determine the price at that moment. This in not a reflection on the Tioga Fair itself, only on THAT vendor. Maybe in the future, the Fair Committee could require all venders to list prices very clearly to the customer's view. Please, if you want to write a negative review, go to a large fair closer to a big city and you will look at the Tioga Fair as a nice, fun, clean fair for everyone!!! See you...