Hours of operation for annual Village Fair set
The city of Birmingham has established new hours of operation for the annual the Village Fair, which will be 60 years old this year, in a comprise developed by the police and fire departments, the owner of the carnival and the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce which sponsors the event.
City commissioners in November approved a permit for the popular Village Fair from May 28 through June 1, but left the hours of operation to be determined after public safety officials had met with chamber of commerce officials.
The closing hours of the fair had become an issue after police and fire department officials had proposed the closing hour of the fair for 8 p.m. due to incidents at the Village Fair in 2024. Normally the event would have a closing time of 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. But fights among teenagers last year raised concerns about possible increasing violence during the late evening hours after dark.
The chamber of commerce uses the Village Fair as its major fundraising affair and shares a portion of proceeds with local nonprofit groups whose volunteers help at the event. Closing the fair at earlier hours would represent a substantial loss of revenue, according to chamber of commerce officials.
At the city commission meeting of Monday, January 13, Birmingham Police Chief Scott Grewe presented a report to commissioners with a new closing time of 9 p.m. and a proposed 8:30 meeting each evening of the fair this year between chamber and public safety officials to review safety issues that may have developed and, at the sole discretion of the police department, possibly extending the closing to 10 p.m. if there were no problems.
The compromise closing hour was the result of a Zoom meeting between Grewe, carnival owner Danny Huston and chamber of commerce president Joe Bauman.
The report present by Grewe noted that several other similar types of fairs have been banned in neighboring communities due to violent encounters among teenagers.
Also noted were several skirmishes at the Village Fair last year, including one clash that resulted in criminal charges for several high school students involved in a fight. Grewe also noted that police had received threats of possible violence before the Village Fair last year and had to expend detective time to investigate the threats in advance of the event.
The report also noted that officials expected a growing attendance at the event this year and were planning on increased public safety staffing for the event. Police and fire department expenses incurred by the city are charged to the chamber of commerce each year.