Well, yes, it is a tough job – sort of – but somebody has to do it. Surrounded by sweets, the smell of roasted nuts, and the velvety swirls of melted chocolate that are about to make our gourmet apples even better. If summer is traditionally a relaxing, kick-back, indulge the sun and fun time for most people, it is a very different-but-fun story for us at Candyland. It’s time to go to the State Fairs! Our annual road trip begins!
Seven Fairs in seven states. It’s a road trip that begins in July and wraps up in mid-November. In total, ten members of the Candyland family are beginning the nation-wide trek to set up exhibit space with aisles of candy, often in buildings 33’x165’, during nine months of the year. Typically, it takes 700-800 hours to prepare for the tour of national fairs each year, with our team logging hundreds of miles of travel, and months of 16-hour, fast-paced days.
Preparation begins with ordering and packing, of course. For us, that means, forklifting 39 3’x4’ pallets stocked with roughly 30,000 pounds. of candy onto trailers. Specifically, we’re loading up America’s favorite old-fashioned candies, nuts, and fudge. If you didn’t grow up eating it, your parents and grandparents probably did, and after one sample tasting, most adults wish they were kids again.
By opening day in each state, we are ready for the visitors who can’t resist selecting penny candy from bins and lining up for the caramel and chocolate hand-dipped, decorated, gigantic apples, pretzels, and cookies. All of which are beautifully presented (if we do say so ourselves) on display trays, freshly re-stocked every day.
As the saying goes, “time flies when you’re having fun,” and it’s hard to believe that we’ve been at this for more than 50 years. These shows have become as much a staple of the Candyland Warehouse as the permanent, 4,000 square foot warehouse and 2,000 square foot retail space operating as Candyland Warehouse in Warwick, RI. For those who cannot visit our Rhode Island home, we think we’ve done a pretty good job of bringing everything to everyone in every state we visit.
If your family is one of the many headed out on a summer road trip this year, stop in if you’re near any of the states hosting these fairs. We guarantee it will create sweet memories that last a lifetime, or two. We can’t imagine not being there.
Here’s our schedule, hope to see you at the Fair!
- August 16th– 26th | Kentucky State Fair
- August 23rd– September 30th | New York State Fair
- September 12th– 30th | Big E
- October 18th– 28th | Pensacola
- October 23rd– 28th | Washington Horse
- November 8th– 18th | North Florida
