While the books for the 2026 Humboldt County Fair are not yet closed, initial reports paint a bleak picture. Total paid attendance was down by about 1,000 tickets, and total admission revenue was down by approximately $14,310, a decrease of about 6 percent from 2025. CEO Moira Kenny, reporting to the Humboldt County Fair Association Board of Directors on Sept. 28, estimated a total profit of $100,000 for the entire event. With total expenses for the year outpacing income by about $200,000 as of the end of July, according to a report from the association’s accountants, it seems unlikely that the annual event is going to pull the organization into the black.
“I’m really concerned that we’re going to bleed to death before next year’s fair,” said Director Johanna Rodoni, who had asked for the reports to be pulled from the consent calendar for discussion.
Finance Committee Chair Clint Duey said he shared Rodoni’s concerns. The finance committee, which met Sept. 23, recommended moving the money held for the Junior Livestock Auction payouts into a high-interest CD to generate revenue. Kenny has begun researching options and will return with a recommendation in October.
Duey said that in light of the current situation, the association should consider moving all available cash into a similar CD provided it stays liquid, leaving only enough to pay month-to-month expenses, which he estimated to be at around $50,000. The association is preparing to move to a different accounting firm in November, and Duey said they hope to have better month-to-month comparisons of actual operating cash, as well as breakouts of profits and loss from individual events.
“I don’t see how we’re going to have to continue to operate at the level we have been,” said Rodoni. “We’re going to have to look at some major cuts I’m afraid.”
Whether or not the inaugural college rodeo invitational event generated a profit is not yet clear. Ticket and box seat sales for the event generated approximately $22,450, an amount split with the producers, minus some costs incurred by the fair, such as event insurance. But there were additional expenses not yet reconciled, and several directors also asked for a more granular breakout of concession sales.
Director Greg Gomes and several others shared their suspicions that people have been sneaking in without paying.
“Attendance numbers might be accurate, but I think there are way more people getting in for free,” said Gomes. “They feel entitled to it. I think we’re giving away too much.”
Director Darren Hansen said he believed people were coming in through the Ferndale High School tennis courts and parking lot and said the fair should be more proactive about sealing off entry points.
Several members of the board also expressed frustration over approximately $50,000 in overdue payments from Junior Livestock Auction buyers.
“We’re sitting on that debt now for an extended period of time. We’re carrying the debt and we’re not in the position to do that,” said Duey, adding that one of the delinquent payers was a “repeat offender.”
Mandy Marquez, representing the Junior Livestock Auction Committee, said that this year new rules had been put in place where late payers will accrue 15 percent interest every 15 days, but it would be helpful to have a way of tracking which buyers have failed to settle up in the past. The board agreed to revisit this.
Other items included in the agenda were the rental of a chiller for the ice rink, part of the now-annual Winter Fair activities. The board approved the estimated expense of $29,125, with directors Wayne Wilson and Hollie Miller absent. They also approved staff to move ahead with building a “Bunny Slope” ski area using money generated from donations. The association is also anticipating another extension on its current lease with the county, following a recent appraisal of the buildings and grounds that will inform next steps with the county Board of Supervisors, with the matter tentatively scheduled for that board’s November docket. The fair board will meet again Monday, Oct. 26.
This story originally ran in the Sept. 29 edition of The Ferndale Enterprise.
