---
title: "Run ticketing for a county, state or renaissance fair | Ticket Fairy Guides"
description: "Sell adult, concession and family admission to a county, state or renaissance fair, let a season pass in on every day of the fair, sell rides, parking and grandstand seats with the ticket, and get exhibitors, vendors and crew in on every day of the fair."
canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/run-a-fair"
---

1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/)
2. [Guides](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides)
3. Run ticketing for a county, state or renaissance fair

Playbooks by event type

# Run ticketing for a county, state or renaissance fair

County, state and renaissance fairs sell family admission for several days, with rides, parking and grandstand shows on top, and hundreds of exhibitors and vendors to bring in each morning. You can price the gate for families, sell the extras in the same order, and let clubs and schools hand out their own exhibitor tickets.

Takes:  20 minutes

- [Build the fair from the Exhibition template](#step-1)
- [Let the season pass in on every day of the fair](#step-2)
- [Sell ride wristbands, parking and grandstand seats with admission](#step-3)
- [Spread arrivals with timed entry](#step-4)
- [Take exhibitor and vendor applications](#step-5)
- [Give exhibitors, vendors and crew a pass for every day](#step-6)
- [Create a hidden Exhibitor ticket type](#step-7)
- [Let a club or school hand out its own exhibitor tickets](#step-8)
- [Open the on-sale at the minute you announced](#step-9)
- [Put the scanning app on the entrance team's phones](#step-10)
- [Follow arrivals on each day of the fair](#step-11)

## Before you start

- You're a brand owner or admin. You can create events, change tickets and add-ons, set up delegations and publish.
- You know your opening days and hours, your adult, concession and family prices, and the rides, parking and shows you sell.
- You have the list of exhibitors, vendors, clubs, schools and crew who come in without buying admission.

1. ## Build the fair from the Exhibition template

   Select **Create Event**, choose **Exhibition** and turn on **Add a family ticket**, which gives you Adult, Concession and Family admission with no ID or date of birth asked. Under **How do you want to sell?**, choose **Season pass on top** to add a pass for visitors who come back on several days.

   **Note:** Rename Concession to the rate you offer, such as Child or Senior, and remove the Audio guide add-on. A fair you ran last year is quicker to duplicate than to rebuild.

   [Create an event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/create-an-event)

   ![The Exhibition template with adult and concession entry, the season pass choice and the family ticket question](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-templates--exhibition.png)    
   *Create Event, Exhibition template.*
2. ## Let the season pass in on every day of the fair

   On the Season pass, turn on **Tickets can be scanned multiple times per event**, choose **Day** and enter 2 in **Max Scans**. Ticket Fairy counts the scans in the 24 hours before each new scan, so 2 lets a visitor who left late yesterday back in this morning.

   **Note:** A day ticket keeps the standard rule of one entry per event. Enter a higher number when visitors may leave the grounds and come back on the same day.

   [Set ticket entry and repeat-scan rules](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-ticket-entry-and-repeat-scan-rules)

   ![Ticket Rules with a daily repeat-scan limit for a season pass](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-tickets--scan-rules.png)    
   *Tickets, ticket type, Ticket Rules.*
3. ## Sell ride wristbands, parking and grandstand seats with admission

   Under **Add-Ons**, select **Create Add-On** for each extra, such as an unlimited ride wristband, a parking pass or a grandstand show seat, with its own price and stock. Visitors add them in the same checkout as their admission.

   **Note:** Set a grandstand seat's stock to the seats you have, so it closes to buyers when the show is full.

   [Sell parking, camping and merchandise with your tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-add-ons-with-your-tickets)

   ![The Create Add-On form with the name, price, stock and the switches that limit it](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-add-ons--new-add-on.png)    
   *Tickets, Add-Ons, Create Add-On.*
4. ## Spread arrivals with timed entry

   Optional: If you cap how many visitors arrive in each part of the day, give the admission ticket type time slots and set **Max sales per slot** to that number. Visitors then pick a date and an arrival time, and a full slot closes while the others stay on sale.

   **Note:** Ticket Fairy turns on time slots for an event, so ask us before you plan around them.

   [Sell timed-entry tickets for an attraction, exhibition or food event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-timed-entry-tickets)

   ![The Time Slots dialog with a date range, opening days, first and last entry times and a capacity for each slot](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-time-slots--generate.png)    
   *Tickets, Create Ticket Type, Generate time slots.*
5. ## Take exhibitor and vendor applications

   Open **Forms** on the event and select **Create Form** for exhibitors and a second one for vendors. Every application arrives in one list with the same questions answered, ready for you to accept or decline.

   **Note:** Once you accept an applicant, their row offers you a guest ticket or an invitation to buy for them.

   [Build an application or sign-up form for your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/take-applications-with-a-form)

   ![The Forms page with two application forms, their dates and their public addresses](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-custom-forms--forms.png)    
   *Event, Forms.*
6. ## Give exhibitors, vendors and crew a pass for every day

   Open **Multi-Entry Passes** on your brand, create a pass type for exhibitors, vendors and crew, then add the people under **Upload Recipients** and send the passes. One pass gets its holder in on every day of the fair and does not take a ticket out of your allocation.

   **Note:** The maximum number of uses covers the whole fair rather than one day, so set it high enough for every trip in and out. We turn passes on for a brand, so ask us if the page is not in your menu.

   [Issue reusable event passes to crew and artists](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-entry-passes-to-your-crew)

   ![The Create New Pass form with the pass type, the maximum uses and the Enter Recipient and Upload Recipients tabs](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-passes--issue-a-pass.png)    
   *Multi-Entry Passes, Create New Pass.*
7. ## Create a hidden Exhibitor ticket type

   On the event's **Tickets** page, create a free ticket type named Exhibitor, then turn on **Hidden** and choose **Always hidden**. Exhibitor tickets then never appear on your public event page, so visitors cannot take one.

   **Note:** Give it a scan rule of **Day** with 2 in **Max Scans**, so one ticket gets its holder in on every day of the fair, even when they arrive earlier than the day before. A holder who leaves and comes back on one day has used both scans until 24 hours after the first one.

   [Set up ticket types](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-up-ticket-types)

   ![Ticket type form with the name, price and Maximum Number of Sales](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-ticket-page-form--create.png)    
   *Tickets, Create Ticket Type.*
8. ## Let a club or school hand out its own exhibitor tickets

   Open **Delegations** on the event and select **Create Delegation** for each club, school or association that shows at the fair, adding the Exhibitor ticket type as a **Guest Ticket** with the number it may hand out. The person you name on it adds their own exhibitors through one link, without a login to your event, and cannot go past the number you set.

   [Let a partner hand out their own tickets for your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/let-a-partner-hand-out-their-own-tickets)

   ![The Delegations page with a partner allocation and the controls to manage who holds it](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-delegations--delegations.png)    
   *Event, Delegations.*
9. ## Open the on-sale at the minute you announced

   Select **Publish**, then **Schedule Publish**, and choose the date and time your announcement promised. The fair page goes public at that minute in the event's own timezone.

   [Schedule when your event goes live](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/schedule-when-your-event-goes-live)

   ![The Schedule Publish dialog with the date and time the fair page goes public](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-publish--schedule-publish-dialog.png)    
   *Publish, Schedule Publish.*
10. ## Put the scanning app on the entrance team's phones

    Open **Check-In** and select **Download App** for the Entry Fairy links on both app stores. Each person scanning signs in with their own login and the Door Staff role, so each admission shows who scanned it.

    [Scan tickets at the door](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/scan-tickets-at-the-door)

    ![The Entry Fairy scanning app download links for the fair's entrance team](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-check-in--download-the-app.png)    
    *Event, Check-In, Download App.*
11. ## Follow arrivals on each day of the fair

    Open **Check-In**, select **Hourly** and pick the day. Arrivals by hour show you when the morning rush comes and when it has passed.

    **Note:** The figures cover the whole fair rather than one entrance, so read them for when to add staff rather than where.

    ![Check-in report with arrivals by hour against tickets sold on a fair day](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-check-in--hourly-report.png)    
    *Event, Check-In.*

## Or have it done for you

Fai, your AI teammate, can check sales, update your event or change a ticket when you ask.

Fai can build the fair from the Exhibition template, set the season pass to admit its holder on every day of the fair, add rides, parking and grandstand seats, issue and send exhibitor passes, create the hidden Exhibitor ticket type and a delegation for a club or school, schedule the on-sale and report arrivals. She shows you each change and asks you to approve it before she makes it. You set up time slots and exhibitor applications in the dashboard.

### In your dashboard, with Fai

```
Help me set up ticketing for our fair <EVENT NAME>; ask about our opening days, adult, concession and family prices, a season pass, rides, parking and grandstand shows, exhibitors and vendors, and our on-sale date, then show me the proposed setup before changing anything
```

## From your terminal

Install the CLI from [our CLI page](https://www.ticketfairy.com/cli), sign in with `ticketfairy auth login`, and choose the brand you are working on with `ticketfairy brand use <BRAND_ID>`. `ticketfairy brand list` and `ticketfairy event list` show the IDs the other commands use.

Use the CLI to create the season pass with its daily scan rule, the hidden Exhibitor ticket type and the ride and parking add-ons, publish the fair and read arrivals by day. You set up time slots, applications, passes and delegations in the dashboard.

### Create a season pass that admits its holder twice in any 24 hours, so a visitor who left late yesterday gets back in this morning.

```
ticketfairy ticket create <EVENT_ID> --name "Season pass" --price 45 --max-inventory 2000 --scan-rule "day:2"
```

### Create a free Exhibitor ticket type that never shows on your public event page and admits its holder twice in any 24 hours.

```
ticketfairy ticket create <EVENT_ID> --name "Exhibitor" --price 0 --max-inventory 1000 --hidden --hiding-option always_hidden --scan-rule "day:2"
```

### Create the ride wristband add-on.

```
ticketfairy addon create <EVENT_ID> --name "Unlimited ride wristband" --price 30 --quantity 5000
```

### Publish the fair.

```
ticketfairy event publish <EVENT_ID>
```

### Read arrivals for each day of the fair.

```
ticketfairy checkin status <EVENT_ID> --breakdown dates --output json
```

## Questions you might have

**How does a family ticket work at the entrance?**

 A family ticket is one ticket priced for a group, so it has one barcode and is scanned once. Say in its description how many adults and children it admits, so buyers and your entrance team read the same rule.

**Can I sell a pass for the whole run of the fair?**

 Yes. Add the season pass from the Exhibition template, or a ticket type of your own, and give it a daily scan rule. It then admits its holder on every day the fair is open. Ticket Fairy counts scans over the previous 24 hours rather than by calendar day, so allow 2 scans for visitors who come back earlier the next morning.

**Is a grandstand show a separate event or an add-on?**

 An add-on works when the show is part of a day at the fair: visitors buy their seat in the same checkout as admission, and the stock closes when the seats are gone. A show you sell to people who do not visit the fair suits an event of its own.

**How do I get hundreds of exhibitors in without a ticket each?**

 Upload them as a CSV of first name, last name and email address under Upload Recipients, and each one receives a multi-entry pass. Where a club or school manages its own members, give it a delegation and let it hand out the tickets itself.

**Can visitors book an arrival time?**

 Yes, once Ticket Fairy has turned on time slots for your fair. The admission ticket type then offers a calendar of dates and arrival times, each with its own capacity.

**Could a second person get in on the same pass?**

 Yes, with a **Day** scan rule and 2 in **Max Scans**. Both scans can happen on the same day, so a holder can leave and come back, and a second person can also get in on that pass. If one entry a day matters more to you than early arrivals, enter 1 instead: the scanner then refuses a pass scanned less than 24 hours after its last entry.

## Still have a question?

Book a demo and we will answer it on a call, on your kind of event. Or create your account and see it for yourself.

   [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome)

No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required.

## Related guides

- [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions/fairs-and-shows)
- [Create an event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/create-an-event)
- [Set ticket entry and repeat-scan rules](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/set-ticket-entry-and-repeat-scan-rules)
- [Sell parking, camping and merchandise with your tickets](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-add-ons-with-your-tickets)
- [Sell timed-entry tickets for an attraction, exhibition or food event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/sell-timed-entry-tickets)
- [Build an application or sign-up form for your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/take-applications-with-a-form)
- [Issue reusable event passes to crew and artists](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/issue-entry-passes-to-your-crew)
- [Let a partner hand out their own tickets for your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/let-a-partner-hand-out-their-own-tickets)
- [Scan tickets at the door](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/scan-tickets-at-the-door)
- [Every Ticket Fairy guide](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides)

## Do this on your own event

Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call.

  [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo)

## Sell tickets with Ticket Fairy

Start free with unlimited events and no monthly fee, and choose a paid plan when you need more.

- Set up your event in minutes
- Free events are free
- Fai, your AI teammate, is built in

 [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome)

No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required.

## See it on a call

Book a demo and we will show you how Ticket Fairy handles your kind of event.

 [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/solutions/fairs-and-shows)

### Tips for selling more tickets

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---

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