State Fair of Virginia opens its gates

RELATED: Guide to the 2012 State Fair of Va.

Safe to say the guy who recently bought the State Fair of Virginia is going to be a hands-on owner.

After months of uncertainty, the fair opened its gates for the 2012 season this afternoon, but not before things got a little tense.

Several dozen folks who had purchased tickets or season’s passes in advance waited in line for up to 45 minutes before reaching one of the two will-call stations.

Photo by Portsia Smith

The situation diffused quickly once Mark Lovell showed up outside the gates – in jeans and a plaid shirt – and waived in those who had been waiting.

Lovell, owner of Tennessee-based Universal Fairs, bought the 331-acre State Fair of Virginia property in Caroline this spring with a winning bid of $5.35 million.

“Sometimes you do things and they don’t work as well as you want them to, and you regroup and you try again.”

After he intervened, the line was gone within five minutes.

The fair runs today through Oct. 7 at the Meadow Event Park in Caroline County.

A young visitor takes in the goats at the State Fair of Virginia. / Photo by Portsia Smith

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