AMHERST — For the first time in the Amherst Rotary Club Fair’s more than 70-year history, organizers staged a ceremonial opening Thursday evening before the rides, games and food booths welcomed visitors to the Town Common.
Marking its 100th anniversary as an organization, the Rotary Club, which has coordinated the community fair with Fanelli Amusements since taking over that role from the Amherst Jaycees in 1995. Club members joined town and state officials, along with representatives from the business community, in cutting a ribbon to open the fair.
At a ceremony held below the Ferris wheel and between the Berry-Go-Round and a more conventional merry-go-round, Rotary Club President Robin Brown presented John Fanelli a certificate of appreciation for bringing the fair to town.
Brown said the fair is one of the club’s major fundraisers, allowing it to support various local organizations, such as Reader to Reader and Family Outreach, as well as projects of Rotary International, specifically, clean water initiatives and wiping out polio.
Maureen Bowler, a 25-year member of Rotary, said the club has always confronted food insecurity, with records showing that as far back as the 1930s it helped Amherst residents package up food for people in need during the holidays.
That tradition has continued through donations to Not Bread Alone, a program of the Center for Human Development; the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; and a $25,000 gift to the Amherst Survival Center for outfitting its kitchen.
The club has sponsored Amherst Baseball for more than 60 years and scholarships have gone to children for Scouting camps. Recently, Bowler said the club provided a donation to Smith Academy’s field hockey team, which lost equipment when a storage shed was destroyed following a lightning strike.
This year’s fair has numerous games, rides for small children, teens and adults, a funhouse, and treats from ice cream to French fries.
The fair, though, has changed over the years. At one time, there was both a parade and a coronation of a king and queen that coincided with the event, and numerous community organizations were invited to set up their own booths, some offering food and drink, and others — such as seniors at Amherst Regional High School — putting on the Senior Splash dunk tank.
The last local group participating was the Rotarians, who would sell drinks and use a fryolator. But as membership got smaller, the club stopped preparing food, and now relies on the generosity of Fanelli for funding.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman said the community fair is an important part of the town’s culture and history.
“It’s just great to have the fair here,” Bockelman said. “It’s the rides, the games, the fried dough.”
Observing that Amherst College students are returning, he said it’s a great way for them to start the semester. And while the fair, especially when previously held in the spring, often had a reputation of bringing wet weather, Bockelman said that can be a beneficial cure for droughts.
State Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, thanked the Rotary for its work, especially related to health promotion, and encouraged people to go on the rides, play the games and eat food. “Have fun. Spend money,” Domb said.
This year, the fair has expanded to four days, with almost the entire green from Spring Street to College Street occupied by the carnival. Bockelman thanked the Amherst Farmers Market for giving up some of its space to accommodate the fair.
The ceremony also recognized two late Rotarians, Stanley Ziomek and Alvin Hall, who organized the fair for many years.
Outside its responsibilities related to the fair, the club continues to meet for lunch, usually with a guest speaker, on the first and third Thursdays of each month at the Inn on Boltwood.
The Rotary Club is also publicizing COVAC, the Connecticut Valley Century Bike Ride. That annual post-Labor Day weekend fundraiser has options for riders to do 50-, 75- and 100-mile treks, beginning and ending from the Lions Club Pavilion in Hatfield.
