The Long Reach Country Fair has been canceled this year because of expected renovations at the Columbia village's aging shopping center.
This September would have been the 18th year for the fair, which in past years has attracted 6,000 to 10,000 people and 60 craft vendors, said Sarah Uphouse, the village manager. The fair is expected to resume next September.
The fair was canceled this year because organizers thought it might coincide with the long-awaited renovations at the 120,500-square-foot village center.
Rouse Co. is negotiating with Safeway about renovating the supermarket, the center's anchor store. The village center opened in 1974 to provide shopping for Long Reach residents.
"Rather than running a first-class event and having difficulty with it, we decided to cancel this year," Ms. Uphouse said. But Elizabeth Buckley, marketing manager for Columbia Management Inc., a subsidiary of Rouse Co., said no dates have been set as to when renovations will begin and end. And the specifics on what will be renovated at the 22-year-old center have not been set.
"Hopefully, things will begin this year," Ms. Buckley said, adding that Rouse officials hope to have firm plans for the renovations in 30 to 60 days.
The only other Columbia village to hold a community fair is Owen Brown, which sponsors the Lake Elkhorn Festival.
Pub Date: 5/02/96
