Fans of the Lebanon Area Fair must wait a little longer for the release of a DVD heralding the history of the beloved agricultural extravaganza, now in its 68th year.
Originally expected to be available at this summer’s event, which kicked off Saturday and runs through July 27, the documentary’s release date has been postponed until 2026.
Documentary co-producers and fair volunteers Tim McGowan and Dana Lape told LebTown several factors influenced the delay.
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“It has been postponed until 2026, which is the 70th anniversary of the fair,” said Lape. “But we are also going to be making (shooting) more videos at this year’s fair. We’re meeting with some people that’ve been hard to meet up with. We thought it was a pretty good idea to film some of the interviews at the fair.”
McGowan said a decision was made to catch some of the sights and sounds while doing more interviews and wished there was a way to catch another sense that makes the fair worth attending annually.
“It will be fun to get the sights and sounds of the fair. It’s too bad we can’t incorporate the smells, too,” said McGowan about the smell of all of the delicious foods that waft across the fairgrounds.
Both said the film must be shorter than two hours so that it can air on one DVD, which has also contributed somewhat to the anticipated two-year wait.
“That’s another reason we’re not rushing,” added Lape. “Once we started doing this, the interviews have been so really good that what’s going to take the most time is cutting down to keep it to under two hours.”
McGowan, a professional photographer who’s also shooting the documentary video, said he already has about three hours of raw footage from the “six really good interviews” that have been filmed so far.
Read More: His Lebanon Area Fair pictures are worth a thousand words – and then some
“Until we get it edited down to under two hours is really going to be a challenge,” said McGowan.
Adding to that future challenge is that the producers would like to conduct another eight to 10 on-camera interviews.
“There’s a lot more people we want to get on it yet,” said McGowan. “There are the younger people and now that we have the Junior Fair Board, it would be fun to get a little bit of their input and their insights into what the fair will be like in the coming years. Our plan is to put those comments at the end of the video.”
Read More: First-ever Junior Lebanon Area Fair Board springs into action this year
LebTown asked if there’s a possibility that the film may become a two-DVD set given the current dynamics surrounding the amount of raw footage already obtained, the length restrictions and the desire to capture more interviews.
“That’s something that once we get to that point, if we can’t get it all down into a two-hour DVD, a second volume could come about, ” said McGowan. “The more we get into it and the more we talk to people, we find that they have so much interest and so many memories that they’re just pouring this stuff out to us.”
Read More: For 60+ years, the Lebanon Area Fair has been one of county’s biggest attractions
Further delaying production is the fact that the filmmakers are volunteers who also happen to give their time to help make the Lebanon Area Fair an annual success.
“Until we get it edited down, it’s going to be a challenge, it’s so hard figuring out what we want to do and how we want to keep it,” said McGowan. “When it comes to volunteering, you have to ask sometimes. And when you see somebody’s talent, you can say, ‘Hey, you guys are pretty good at video’ and it would be nice to have them do some footage and it would be great to get them involved and give us some of their ideas.”
McGowan added there are still older fair organizers and volunteers whose stories and memories need to be preserved in perpetuity.
“There are some people who we want to interview while their memories are still sharp and then we’ll get into the younger people after that,” said McGowan. “I wish that all of these things that need to happen could all be done at the same time, but we don’t have the time to do it right now. We’re looking forward to having the time to hit it again.”
LebTown previously reported that the history of the fair is being chronicled in a DVD called Through Their Eyes: Creation of the Lebanon Area Fair. The DVD is expected to run about 90 minutes, but given the amount of video already shot, it’s conceivable that the final product is closer to two hours.
Although no price for the future DVD has been determined, McGowan previously told LebTown that proceeds from its sale will benefit the Lebanon Area Fair.
“Anything we make from this we’ve already determined we’re going to give the money to the fair queen program or another program within the fair,” said McGowan at the time. “Personally, I’d like to see another scholarship added to the ones we already have, but that is still to be determined.”
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