Dear Community Members,

Over the last ten years, two trends have been evident in our community: Traffic on Highway 285 has increased dramatically, and Bailey Days has grown into an event with upwards of 6,000 participants. This was not always the case. Bailey Days was always intended as a community event. Its focus was not on businesses, not on vendors, but ultimately was intended to provide the community with a fun summer festival. Over the past decades, Bailey Days has been a 1-day event; a 1-day event with locals partying the night before; a 2-day event, and for several years, it was not held at all.

Recently, the challenge has been accommodating the growth, not disrupting the highway, and ultimately promoting safety.

Responding to the untenable challenges that have made executing the event more and more difficult each year, in 2025, the Bailey Days committee, after examining alternative sites, unanimously approved a move to Glen Isle Resort in Tripps Meadow. The committee worked with the fire department and worked through all of the potential aspects of the new location.

A small group of opponents, not representative of the community, chose to mount a campaign to challenge the move. This group has gone to state, local, and federal authorities and officials. Though very small, they were very loud and misguided.

Regardless of the merits, the timeline for approval has now been expanded and compromised the ability of the event to be held at all. Even under an optimistic expedited time frame, we would not be able to get all of the county approvals and forest service approvals until early June 2025, which is a non-starter for vendors and others who need a firm commitment that the event will actually be held. Additionally, the Chamber would be placed in a position of grave financial risk through the logistics it would be required to commit to without any expectation of being able to hold the event. In the last week, numerous other challenges have arisen, especially related to potential fire dangers that neighbors and the US Forest Service feel are realistic.

Since making the announcement at last month's Chamber Meeting about moving Bailey Days to Tripp’s Meadow at the back of Glen Isle property, there have been many roadblocks and hurdles that have been put in our way. Many of the complaints cited disruption. Any event of this size causes disruption, as the many residents who live along Main Street can historically attest to. The most significant fact to consider is that the committee has worked with local fire officials to discuss the potential fire danger, and all involved felt that the event could occur with reasonable fire precautions in place.

It is important to note that there are limited alternative locations in our community to hold an event of this size and scope. While many opponents suggested alternative locations, most or all of them had already been considered by the committee, and all represented similar concerns. Essentially, the opponents were suggesting they did not want the event in their backyard but were content to have it in someone else’s backyard.

Ultimately, the committee made the decision that holding the event was not feasible. As a community, it is clear that Bailey Days has grown too much and has lost its connection to the community. The Bailey Days committee will work towards organizing small-scale events that will allow the community to get together, enjoy each other’s company, and bring it back to the locals.

The Chamber Board last week unanimously approved the committee’s decision to cancel the event.

While this news may be disappointing, we believe it is an opportunity to refocus on what truly matters – our community. We are committed to creating new, smaller events that will foster the same spirit of togetherness and celebration that Bailey Days was known for. We look forward to your support and participation in these future endeavors.

Memories from the past..