The grandstand — home to the rodeo and demolition derby, the animal barns, home arts, and commercial buildings, and the midway — known for its carnival rides — will go empty for the first time in 70 years.
Organizers of the Prince William County Fair told Potomac Local News today that there, in fact, will be no fair this year. This news comes after organizers were planning to hold a fair during the third week in August — as it has since 1949 — at the fairgrounds just outside Manassas.
“After careful consideration, we have decided that it is in the best interest of the public for us not to proceed with the PWCF for 2020. However, we believe that circumstances will improve greatly within a year’s time, allowing us a bigger and better celebrity fair in 2021,” Ahmet Aksoylu penned to Potomac Local News in an email.
Aksoylu, a commercial Real Estate developer who owns multiple buildings along Liberia Avenue in Manassas, as well as buildings in Manassas Park and Woodbridge, has a purchase agreement with the Prince William Veterans Farm Club to buy the 86-acre fairgrounds at 10624 Dumfries Road. The deal has not been finalized.
The farm club put the property on the market two years ago as shareholders wanted to cash out. Since then, the property has been reviewed by multiple Real Estate investors and the Prince William County Public School system as a potential site for a new education center.
The farm club advertised the 2019 Prince William County Fair as the last event in its 70-year history.
The fair is just one of the multiple events that take place at the fairgrounds each year. Most recently, a spa and swim show featuring hot tubs for sale was held at the fairgrounds in mid-May.
