CANFIELD, Ohio – Starting this year, the Canfield Fair intends to set up a designated area where adults can buy and drink beer or wine.
The exact location has yet to be determined, said fair board member George Roman. “We’re looking around the fairgrounds now,” he said. “We have several locations that we’re contemplating.”
The fair will take place Sept. 2-7.
The bar area will either be a tent or all or part of an existing building. It will have a monitored gate for entry. Patrons will not be able to leave the area and walk around the fairgrounds with their drink.
“Once you get in and you purchase a drink, you will have to stay there and finish it,” Roman said. “It will not be a Dora. You will leave the area empty-handed.”
A Dora is a designated outdoor refreshment area, such as exists in downtown Youngstown, where adults can purchase drinks and walk around on the sidewalks within a zone of several city blocks.
While the beer garden would be a first for Canfield, the Ohio State Fair in Columbus has had locations for on-premises consumption of alcohol since 2011.
The Canfield Fair beer garden will offer beer and wine, and possibly hard spirits, depending on the liquor license it is granted.
It has sold beer and seltzers in the grandstand during concerts and events for the past four years. Those who buy beer during grandstand shows cannot take it with them into the fairgrounds.
The fair board has to obtain a special temporary liquor license for grandstand sales each year.
As part of the board’s plan to expand alcohol sales, it had a measure placed on the ballot in the May 5 election that allows alcohol sales in the part of Canfield Township that includes the fairgrounds. The measure was approved by voters in the previously dry area and is now before the election board for final approval.
If approved, the fair board’s attorney will determine which type of liquor license makes the most sense for it to request.
It wants a license that will also give it the ability to sell alcohol at events at its Kusalaba Event Center. The spacious and modern building, which opened in 2023, is rented out for expos, shows and sales by outside groups throughout the year. The board currently has to obtain a temporary alcohol license for each event at the Kusalaba.
The fair board could take action on its liquor license request, and its beer garden location, at its June 9 board meeting, Roman said.