ERIE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

What ERIE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY does

The Erie County Agricultural Society is a private not-for-profit membership corporation founded in 1819 in Hamburg, New York, and is the oldest civic organization in Western New York. It operates the annual 12-day Erie County Fair on a 340-acre owned Fairgrounds campus at 5600 McKinley Parkway, an event the organization describes as the third-largest county fair in the United States, drawing 1,125,347 attendees in 2023. The Society's core products center on the Fair itself, including Strates Shows-managed midway operations (over 70 rides, games, and vendors), ticketed Grandstand Entertainment (concerts and motor events), competitive exhibitions spanning livestock, culinary arts, fine arts, and skilled trades, and ancillary programs such as the Youth Livestock Expo, Fair Camp, Erie County FAIRway mini-golf, the Pepsi All-Star Band, and the Kids Cultivate Agriculture Pitch Contest.

The organization's revenue is generated across six streams: gate admissions and event tickets ($15 advance / $19 at-gate), Strates Shows midway transactions (ride wristbands and Fun Cards), $100 annual society memberships, corporate sponsorships and donations, food and vendor concessions, and year-round Event Center facility rentals. Ticketing is processed exclusively through the SaffireTix platform; the Society maintains no public API or proprietary technology beyond a website, social media channels, and basic mobile applications. The Society is governed by 452 voting members and a Board of Directors, led by CEO & Fair Manager Jessica Underberg, with 50 year-round employees supplemented by significant seasonal staffing during the Fair window. It is independent of government funding and operates without parent, subsidiary, or institutional investor relationships.

Beyond its commercial operations, the Society runs the Farm 2 Table field-trip program (serving 70,000+ Western New York K-5 students since 2010), a scholarship program that awarded a record $105,000 to 26 students in 2025, and a 153,124-pound annual Opening Day Food Drive benefiting FeedMore WNY. Its most strategically significant commercial relationship is a 100-year exclusive carnival midway partnership with James E. Strates Shows dating to August 25, 1924, the longest continuous carnival-fair partnership in the United States.

Name

ERIE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

Legal name

ERIE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

Website

https://ecfair.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1819

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Erie County Agricultural Society is a 206-year-old private not-for-profit membership corporation in Hamburg, New York, that produces the annual 12-day Erie County Fair, the third-largest county fair in the United States, drawing over 1.1 million attendees through gate admissions, carnival midway, Grandstand entertainment, agricultural competitions, scholarships, and year-round facility rentals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Fair & Event Services

NAICS

Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131), Amusement and Theme Parks (71311)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Racing, Including Track Operation (7948), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Community & Multi-Category Fairs (MPAGAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fairgrounds & Expo Parks (THAHAAAH), Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA), Festival, Fair & Event Mobile Concessions (THAFAHAI)

Keywords

• Agricultural fair events
• Carnival midway operations
• Agricultural competitions
• Event ticketing services
• Facility rental services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Gate Admission & Event Tickets: Revenue from gate admission tickets to the annual Erie County Fair, advance sales, and special event pricing. Includes admission to the Fair, grandstand entertainment tickets for concerts and motor events.
2. Midway & Carnival Operations: Revenue from Strates Shows partnership providing carnival midway with over 70 rides, games and vendors. Income from ride wristbands (Weekday One Price Ride Days) and Fun Cards with ride credits.
3. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees of $100 per person, providing privileges including free Fair admission, voting rights at annual meeting, access to member events, early grandstand ticket access, and competitive exhibit fee waivers.
4. Sponsorships & Donations: Sponsorship revenue from corporate sponsors for various fair events, exhibits, and programs. Includes donations to the scholarship fund and charitable contributions from the community.
5. Concessions & Vendor Fees: Revenue from food concessionaires, vendors, and attraction operators at the Fairgrounds throughout the year.
6. Facility Rentals: Year-round building and facility rentals including the Event Center for various events, trade shows, and community gatherings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Erie County Agricultural Society produces and operates the annual Erie County Fair, a 12-day agricultural exposition held at the 340-acre Hamburg Fairgrounds in Hamburg, New York. The Fair features the Strates Shows midway with 70+ rides, Grandstand concerts and motor events, agricultural competitions (livestock, culinary, fine arts), youth programs, and educational field trips. Year-round revenue is generated through ECAS memberships ($100/year), Event Center facility rentals, corporate sponsorships, and concessions.

Product overview

The Erie County Agricultural Society operates the Erie County Fair as its primary product—a 12-day annual event celebrating Western New York's agricultural heritage. The core Fair offers the Strates Shows Midway (carnival rides/games), Grandstand Entertainment (concerts and motor events), agricultural competitions including Youth Livestock Expo, and diverse food offerings. Supporting products include youth programs (Fair Camp, Kids Cultivate pitch contest, Pepsi All-Star Band), educational initiatives (Farm 2 Table field trips), community activities (Erie County FAIRway mini-golf), and the Ultimate Fairgoer recognition program. The Society also administers scholarship programs totaling over $105,000 annually. Online ticketing is powered by SaffireTix.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ECAS: Abbreviated form of Erie County Agricultural Society used for internal references and communications
• Erie County Fair Pepsi All-Star Band
• Erie County FAIRway
• Breakfast With Champions
• Kids Cultivate Agriculture Pitch Contest

Products and services

• Erie County Fair (Gate Admission) Annual 12-day agricultural exposition featuring midway entertainment, agricultural competitions, grandstand concerts, food vendors, livestock exhibitions, and family attractions. Held at the Hamburg Fairgrounds; advance gate admission starts at $15.
• Grandstand Entertainment Ticketed headline entertainment including country and classic rock concerts, monster trucks, and demolition derbies held at The Buffalo News Grandstand during the Fair; tickets range from $25 to $101.95 per performance and include Fair admission on the day of the event.
• Strates Shows Midway

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• James E. Strates ShowsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 August 1924100-year exclusive partnership (since August 25, 1924) providing carnival midway with over 70 rides, games and vendors. Longest continuous run of any carnival midway and any one fair in the United States. Strates Shows is a family-run, fourth-generation business headquartered in Orlando, Florida, celebrating 101 years of operation in 2024.
• FeedMore WNYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual food drive partnership since 2013. The Opening Day Food Drive is the largest one-day summer food drive for FeedMore WNY, collecting record-breaking 153,124 lbs in 2024 (8.72% increase over 2023). Donations support hunger-relief across four-county service area.
• TOPS Friendly MarketsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFood drive sponsor for Opening Day Food Drive benefiting FeedMore WNY. Also partnered for 'Meals On The Bus' food drive events at area store locations.
• Five Star BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Opening Day Food Drive at the Erie County Fair.
• Buffalo RacewaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFive months of harness racing at the Fairgrounds annually, part of the year-round event programming at the 340-acre campus.
• WBBZ-TV (Ch. 67)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for 'Fair Day Live!' daily television program broadcast live from the Fair, also streamed on Facebook Live.
• Student Transportation of AmericaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner in 'Meals On The Bus' food drive events supporting FeedMore WNY.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Los Angeles County Fair (Fairplex): Large county fair with substantial campus, year-round facility rentals, and similar agricultural/community fair heritage — directly comparable as a multi-category county fair with a large footprint.
• Iowa State Fair: Iconic agriculturally-focused state fair with strong livestock, youth (4-H/FFA), and competitive exhibition programming — closely mirrors ECAS's agricultural-identity-driven model.
• State Fair of Texas: Operates the largest state fair in the U.S. by attendance, with a comparable multi-category fair format including livestock shows, midway, concerts, and family entertainment — directly comparable in product mix and seasonality.
• Ohio State Fair: Multi-day state fair with similar lineup of agricultural competitions, midway, concerts, and motor events — comparable in programming and ticket structure.
• Indiana State Fair: Mid-size state fair with year-round events campus, livestock shows, grandstand entertainment, and youth programming — directly comparable in structure and audience.
• Delaware State Fair: Regional state fair with comparable livestock shows, midway, concerts, and youth exhibition programming — a smaller-scale analog of ECAS's operating model.
• Minnesota State Fair: One of the largest state fairs in the U.S. with over 2 million annual attendees, sharing the same agricultural exposition, midway, grandstand entertainment, and competitive exhibition model as the Erie County Fair, but at greater scale.
• Florida State Fair: State fair that has expanded year-round programming and facility rentals on its fairground campus — comparable in diversification strategy beyond a single annual event.

Regional players

• Western Fair District: Canadian multi-use fair and exposition district operating a year-round facility with harness racing, agri-food events, and exhibitions — similar non-profit fair district model but in a different national market.

Others

• International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE): Industry trade association representing fairs across North America; not a competitor but the key peer ecosystem, benchmarking, and best-practice network for an organization like ECAS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ErieCountyFair
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ErieCountyFairNY
• Facebookfacebook.com/ErieCountyFair
• Instagraminstagram.com/eriecountyfair
• TikToktiktok.com/@eriecountyfair
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/erie-county-agricultural-society

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ERIE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY