Horry County Fair postponed until 2016 due to permitting issues

There won’t be a Horry County fair at the Myrtle Beach Speedway this year after all.

A week after announcing the fair would return to the county after about six years, Myrtle Beach Speedway general manager Steve Zacharias said the event would not happen until 2016 to allow them more planning time.

“It felt better not to try to rush this thing and not put out the product that we want,” he said.

The speedway announced last week that it would hold the fair April 10-19 on its property before quickly sending out a retraction saying it hadn’t gotten the required permits. A county fair has not been held since 2009.

The county requires a 45-day period between applying for the permit and the actual event, which doesn’t leave enough time for the fair to be permitted. And county ordinance also states that special events cannot be longer than seven days. The speedway wanted its fair to last 10 days.

The speedway withdrew its special event permit application Wednesday morning, county spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said.

Zacharias said organizers spent about a year working on the event and once things were in place on the speedway’s end, they were ready to go.

“We were excited because we knew we finally got it together,” he said. “The 10-day [piece] didn’t register until it was out there.”

Zacharias said he was not aware that the county did not allow special events to last longer than seven days. He said he felt that the county would have worked with the speedway although it filed less than 45 days before the event, but did not think the speedway could shorten its event to seven days.

“Because of the scope of the fair, it would take more than a day for set up,” he said. “We would have a Ferris wheel, swings, things like that. Trying to fit that within seven days is tough.”

He said that the speedway already has secured Florida-based Strates Shows to provide carnival services at next year’s event, which is expected to be held in April 2016. Strates also would have provided carnival services were the event held this year, Zacharias said.

Zacharias said he still hopes to hold a 10-day event next year, hoping the county is able to get behind the “positive event geared toward locals.”

He said the speedway will work to establish a stronger connection with the local community throughout 2015, holding themed nights that incorporate local businesses such as animal rescues, 4-H clubs, public safety offices and school districts.

For more information about the Myrtle Beach Speedway and its upcoming events, visit www.mbspeedway.com.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Horry County Fair postponed until 2016 due to permitting issues."