ANDERSON COUNTY — The Anderson County Fair is moving its home, but is still staying in Anderson County.

The Strates Shows, which operate the Anderson County Fair, will be holding a fair in the county sometime in the spring, said Jay Strates, director of administration and finance of the Strates Shows.

But right now the fair’s manager, Josh Kinley, is looking for venues for the fair, Strates said. He would not comment on which facilities are being considered.

Strates also said the company is looking at property possibly to purchase to serve as the new home for the fair in Anderson. However, if that option is chosen, it would not be a facility as large as the current 78 acres that Strates Shows owns on Williamston Road.

“A lot of fairs are moving their traditionally mid-summer fairs to the spring,” Strates said.

One time frame being considered is around May. And the fair will still have the competitive exhibits, such as the photo exhibits, flower-arranging contests, but the presence of livestock at the new fair is in question, Strates said.

That is because Anderson University is purchasing the Anderson County Fair and Expo Center, which the Strates family has owned since 1982.

When the deal is finalized, Strates Shows won’t have the kind of facilities, like a barn, where they can house livestock for future events, Strates said.

The news of the sale comes about a year after the university and the Strates family entered into serious negotiations about the property. Strates said it became harder to compete with the increased number of venues in the Upstate and it just made sense to sell the facility.

Anderson County Visitor’s and Convention Bureau Director Glenn Brill said it would be good to continue hosting a fair in Anderson, because the event does bring money into the local economy.

“Certainly the fair was missed this year,” Brill said. “So getting the fair back would be good.”