Everyone welcome at the state fair

There’s been some confusion on our Opinion pages about how the Alaska State Fair selects vendors and chooses which groups are allowed to market their views on the fairgrounds.

A letter to the editor in the Sunday, Aug. 28 issue of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman alleged sinister motives behind this coming Saturday’s Mining Day at the state fair, which is sponsored by the Council of Alaska Producers, a mining coalition.

The letter writer alleges that the Mat Valley Coalition, nor any other anti mining group with a booth at the fair, will be allowed to operate on Mining Day.

That’s not so, according to Alaska State Fair marketing director Dean Phipps. After he saw the letter in the Sunday edition, he pulled up a string of emails exchanged between the fair and the Mat Valley Coalition group to do a bit of fact checking.

First of all, he said we should understand there are two types of spaces at the fair. One group is vendors who pay fees upwards of $1,100 for a booth space for the duration of the fair.

Second, when groups like MTA, BP or the Council of Alaska Producers sponsor a day at the fair, that economic outlay comes with benefits such as tickets and parking passes for people working at the booth, title to the day, recognition in the fair’s marketing materials and the opportunity to invite their “partners” to set up booths along the yellow path under the eves of the Farm Exhibits building.

Phipps said that in the past, the space was used sporadically, but is now included in the benefits groups get when they sponsor a day at the fair. The sponsor invites groups and fair staff evaluates the invitations for appropriateness, then completes the transaction if the group invited fits with the day’s theme.

“The sponsor suggests people they want to be there,” Phipps said of the tables under the eves.

In this case, what seems to have happened is the Mat Valley Coalition requested table space in this area on Mining Day. But the Council of Alaska Producers had already invited several mining companies to fill the spaces under the eves, Phipps said.

He said the agreement the fair inked with the Council of Alaska Producers includes no restrictions on what other groups can be present Saturday anywhere on the Alaska State Fair’s 300 acres of private property. Phipps said fair staff contacted the Mat Valley Coalition Monday and offered the group an open booth space near the same area.

“We offered them that option today,” he said. “But we would never deny them a regular vendor booth space because of their message.”

Phipps said the fair has a list of rules it requires vendors, sponsors and fairgoers to follow while on its property. He said the focus is on behavior.

For example, the fair had to rein in groups passing out stickers. Not because of the message on any of the stickers, but because of the mess the stickers made.

Phipps said the fair works hard to see everyone is treated equally when applying the rules.

So if you go to the Alaska State Fair on Mining Day, you will see tables set up under the eves sponsored by members of the Council of Alaska Producers.

You’ll also find booths on the fairgrounds on Mining Day — and on every other day of the fair — for the Renewable Resources Council, as well the Mat Valley Coalition.

Phipps said the coalition accepted the fair’s offer on Monday and will have a booth along the yellow path near the Farm Exhibits, about 50 feet away from the space it had first requested.