After six months as general manager of the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, Brian Curry can proudly point to some areas of improvement, while acknowledging that other goals remain in progress.

Curry came to the fairgrounds in a relative trial-by-fire period, barely six weeks before the 2023 Jefferson County Fair, after having worked at the Port Townsend Vineyards for five years, and in the Seattle restaurant industry for 23 years prior to that.

In addition to dealing with “the forward-facing aspects of the hospitality industry,” Curry also served on a citizens’ advisory commission for the Seattle Center, so the potential of a venue like the Jefferson County Fairgrounds appealed to him.

“We have 33 acres here that can be of great value to the community, 365 days a year,” Curry said. “There’s no reason these fairgrounds can’t host daily usage. Our offices could double as a grocery store for the campground.”

Curry touted how the Port Townsend OCEAN K-12 school and FIRST Robotics Competition “Roboctopi” Team have each utilized fairgrounds buildings for their own activities and preparations, while the local pickle ball league has commandeered the dance hall.

“We want to be able to say ‘yes’ to those opportunities,” Curry said. “We want our neighbors and the surrounding community to feel like they can take advantage of our resources, so long as we can still pay our own bills.”

Curry’s vision of the fairgrounds serving as a hub for education, youth, and the rest of the community extends to the campgrounds, which have implemented online reservations under his watch. He asserted this change will allow guests from far away to plan local stays more confidently than the old first-come, first-served system.

“We also want to ensure they have attractive amenities to meet them,” Curry said, citing the area’s planting and the refurbishments of its bathroom facilities. “And the buildings we rent out provide services to community groups while also serving as revenue-generators for the fairgrounds.”

Curry pointed to those rentable buildings’ “highly competitive” costs, noting that some customers had assumed their daily rental fees were their per-hour costs instead.

“I love that we were able to host a wedding this summer,” said Curry, who praised the fairgrounds’ groundskeeping and maintenance staff. “Every day feels like I’m discovering new things that we can do, and the place has never looked better.”

Curry conceded that maintenance can be “an ongoing slog” of recurring obligations, but he expressed relief that fairgrounds staff have addressed a number of needed but previously deferred fixes, which he hopes will allow the fairgrounds to aim for future upgrades.

“Our horticulture building has incredible potential as an event space,” Curry said. “The problem is that we’re already stretching the capability of its power and lighting. We need to make it more viable for such uses.”

“It’s like when the fairgrounds hosted a caravan of Airstream trailers,” he said. “Challenges like that have helped us develop game plans for similar events to come, so that we have those experiences in our shared toolbox. When we can develop our options in advance, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time.”

Even with the fairgrounds already attracting renters ranging from the Kiwanis Club to the Key City Public Theatre for events as colorful as roller discos, Curry would love to see the venue host gatherings such as dinner theater performances, and even develop further “synergy” with nearby Fort Worden.

“We had a winter solstice event here that we were hoping would draw maybe 300 people,” Curry said. “We got about 700 instead. They drank cider and cocoa, and had a great time on hayrides around the old horse racing track. Every step forward has been rewarding, and we’re fortunate to have so many people around us who are rooting for the fairgrounds’ success.”