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Charlene Clark staffs the Usborne book kiosk at the Virginia State Fair. Usborne's children's books have been sold at the fair for three years.
Diana English helps a customer at a Tupperware display. Tupperware also has used the State Fair to book parties and sign salespeople. |
Angie Gum of Highland County spotted just the thing to impress her toothbrush-avoiding grandson at the State Fair of Virginia.
"Look at what happens if you don't brush your teeth," she said, pointing to a copy of "The Gross, Disgusting & Totally Cool Mouth Book" in the Dr. Richard Cottrell DDS and Associates' booth in the Farm Bureau Center.
Three-year-old Conner's big blue eyes got even bigger as he peered at its glossy photographs of rotting, stained and missing teeth.
"Want a sucker?" asked Hope White, human resources manager for Cottrell's offices in Bowling Green, Callao, Fredericksburg and King George County. "It's sugar-free, but you'll have to brush afterwards!"
The spiral-bound book is a popular attraction at the booth, one of about 150 filling the 65,354-square-foot, air-conditioned exhibition hall at the fair's new home in Caroline County. Businesses, government agencies and campaigners for both gubernatorial candidates are using the booths to raise their profiles and drum up sales--or, in the case of the Deeds and McDonnell supporters, votes.
Among the exhibitors were a number of Fredericksburg-area businesses. Some were old hands who've taken part in the State Fair for years, while others like Cottrell were newbies who appreciate the fact that starting this year they don't have to drive all the way to Richmond to participate.
"It's a lot closer for me," said David Clark of southern Stafford County, who's there to sell the Usborne line of children's books. "It knocks off about 22 miles."
Clark and his wife, Charlene, have been selling Usborne books at the State Fair for three years, and it is their biggest event. They specialize in selling at fairs instead of home parties as many direct-sales businesses do.
Sales were slow getting started on Thursday morning, the opening day of the fair, Clarke said, but he expected them to pick up by the weekend. He said he also hopes to recruit people who want to become Usborne consultants.
Christina Flinsch of Fredericksburg used to sell cotton candy, soft-serve ice cream and Hawaiian shaved ice at fairs, so she knew the State Fair of Virginia would be a great place to market her 2-year-old Tupperware business.
"It gets my name out to a lot more people than at a home party," she said. "At the State Fair, they get 250,000 people."
Last year, Flinsch not only sold a number of colorful Tupperware canisters, mixing bowls and empanada makers at the State Fair, but booked about 10 parties and signed up six consultants for her sales team.
"It's fun. You get to meet a lot of people, and a lot of them have the same questions," she said. "People wonder if we're still here."
Paramount Pest Control, which has 26 locations in the Mid-Atlantic region including Fredericksburg, was at the fair partly because it faces a somewhat similar dilemma, said Jim Urwin.
"Everybody knows Orkin and Terminix," he said. "We want to let people know we're out there. We're local."
Union Bank & Trust, which is based in Bowling Green and is a fair sponsor, doesn't have a name-recognition problem, but that didn't stop the bank from handing out freebies and keys to a treasure chest of prizes to promote itself and raise awareness of its 4-month-old Loyalty Banking program.
Caroline Tourism Director Kathy Beard used her booth at the fair not only to hand out maps, posters and brochures about the county but also to do a little informal polling of fairgoers.
Richmonders in particular, she said, were curious about the 11-day event's new location at The Meadow Event Park, and everyone said that they liked the rural atmosphere better than the more urban one in Richmond. They also said there were no safety issues, but they were surprised that they had to pay $5 to park.
"That's two pluses," she said. "But that one is not a plus."
Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Email: cjett@freelancestar.com
