Multi-day fair and show restrooms with daily servicing, sized to the peak crowd and the event length.
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Fair and outdoor show restrooms are portable toilets and hand-wash stations set up for a multi-day event on a fairground, lot or park. In Jacksonville the Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair runs 11 days each November, so the units are planned for daily servicing across a long run.
A fair is a long event on the same ground. Where a festival is a few hours on a street, a fair runs for days, and the units carry the crowd every single day.
The Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair is the well-known fair in the city. It runs 11 days each November, and it draws a very large attendance across that time. The fair is held downtown, and the restroom plan has to fit the grounds, the vendor areas and the parking.
This page covers how a multi-day fair changes servicing, how the unit count is planned without a city ratio, which permits apply to a fair or outdoor show, and what moves the price. For the servicing rules that apply to every visit, read Portable Toilet Servicing and Pumping. For the permit thresholds for a fair in a city park, read Park and City Event Restrooms.
It is an 11-day fair held each November, with a very large attendance across the run. The length of the fair and the size of the crowd mean the units are in use every day and serviced every day.
The fair is a long event on the same grounds, and its crowd arrives and leaves throughout the day. Units are used heavily in the late morning, at lunch and in the evening, and the load carries from one day into the next. A unit that is clean in the morning may be unusable by the afternoon at the busiest clusters.
The units are placed across the grounds so that the walk to them is short from the food areas, the animal areas and the main gates.
Servicing becomes a daily cycle rather than a single visit. Each cluster is pumped, cleaned and restocked on a set schedule, and the busiest units get a mid-day visit.
The daily cycle starts with a full pump and clean before the gates open, so every unit begins the day ready for use. A mid-day visit is added at the units with the heaviest use, usually the clusters near the food and animal areas. A check in the late afternoon catches anything that filled faster than expected.
Hand-wash stations are the part of the cycle that runs out first. They need water and paper at each visit, and a station near food areas can use its water quickly. The hand-wash plan should be written into the daily cycle, not added after the first problem.
Jacksonville publishes no units-per-attendee ratio for fairs. The count is planned from the peak crowd, the length of the fair and the ADA cluster guidance, and it is confirmed with the permitting office.
The usable starting point is the peak crowd and how many hours the units will be in use at that peak. The organizer should estimate the busiest days and the busiest hours, then size the clusters to those. The fair's attendance figures reported in the past are useful context but are not a unit count.
The ADA guidance is the most concrete reference available.
A fair or show of 500 or more people goes through the Office of Special Events, and every attendee counts. Under 500, a park event goes through JaxParks or Traffic Engineering, and a JaxParks Special Use permit can apply to park events.
The 500 count includes workers, participants, spectators and every other attendee, which for a fair means the vendors, the staff and the volunteers as well as the public.
A park event needs a JaxParks Special Use permit if it involves special equipment, electricity or a generator, has 50 to 499 people, is open to the public, takes donations or fees, or serves alcohol. A fair with rides, generators or food sales can meet several of those conditions at once, so the restroom plan is checked against the full permit application.
The number of days, the number of units, the daily servicing visits, the hand-wash units and the distance from the company's yard all move the price. The price is explained and approved before work starts.
A multi-day fair needs servicing on every day, so the price grows with the length of the run as well as the number of units. A daily cycle with a mid-day visit costs more than a single visit a day. Hand-wash stations add water and servicing, and accessible units need their own route and servicing time.
Distance from the company's yard and the access to the grounds also count, since a long route each day adds time to every visit. The quote should list the daily cycle, the mid-day visits and the hand-wash service as separate lines. A quote comes from the company that takes the call, and the price is explained and approved before work starts.
Keep the units clear of the food and animal areas, and do not let vendors store food, supplies or fuel against them. Do not dump waste, water or cleaning fluid on the grounds, and do not let anyone climb on or lean against units. Hand-wash stations should be placed on firm ground and checked for leaks, since water on a busy ground can make it slippery. Keep the paths clear for the Sheriff's Office and Jacksonville Fire and Rescue at all times, and tell the company about any damaged unit so it can be pulled before someone is hurt.
The organizer shares the layout of the grounds, the gates, the food areas, the animal areas and the parking. The company estimates the daily peak and the number of days the units are needed. A plan built for the peak day is safer than one built for an average day, because the fair's crowd builds through the run.
Units are placed in clusters across the grounds rather than in one block, so no area is far from a unit. Each cluster includes an accessible unit, and hand-wash stations are placed near the food and animal areas. The clusters are set so the service truck can reach each one without crossing the crowd.
Servicing runs on a daily cycle, with a full pump and clean before the gates open and a mid-day visit at the busiest units. A technician checks the hand-wash stations and restocks paper and water at each visit. The cycle is written down so the fair team knows when each cluster will be visited.
Over a multi-day fair the units need a check during the run, not only at the scheduled visits. Lids, doors and latches are checked for damage from the crowd, and any unit that has been left in an unsanitary state is cleaned at once. The fair team can report problems to the company during the day.
At the close of the fair the units are pumped, cleaned and removed. The grounds are checked for damage from the trucks, and the organizer signs off on the pickup. Units that need repair are noted so the next fair starts with a sound set.
A multi-day agricultural fair brings a steady crowd across its run, with heavier days at weekends and in the evening. The units are placed in clusters across the grounds, with extra units near the food and animal areas. The daily servicing cycle is built around the gates, and the unit count is sized to the peak day rather than the average day.
An outdoor show that runs for several days on a lot or park needs the same daily cycle as a fair, but usually with a smaller footprint. The units are placed near the entrances and the main stage, and the servicing is timed around the show's shifts. A show on public ground is covered by the city's permit rules, and the restroom plan is reviewed with the permit.
A show that runs over one weekend is a shorter version of the same plan. The units are placed for the peak day, and servicing runs on a short cycle with a visit before each session. The plan is simpler, but the same questions apply about the crowd, the access and the permit.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent fair and outdoor show restrooms, send the form and we'll call you back.
The fair's downtown setting puts its restroom plan close to the city's other event grounds and the parking that serves them. The grounds have to be cleared, the gates have to stay open and the service trucks have to get through the crowd each morning. A restroom plan that works on the first day should be checked against the parking and the traffic plan before the fair opens.
November is the last stretch of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November. A fair in November can be affected by a late storm, so the restroom plan should include the storm plan the company has agreed with the organizer. Units can be secured or pulled before a storm, and the grounds checked afterwards.
Jacksonville's crowd events are spread across the year, and the stadium rebuild is changing the autumn calendar for the next two seasons. A fair in those seasons should confirm its dates and attendance with the organizer, since the fact sheet does not confirm the dates of future fairs. Call (888) 351-0294 to ask about a fair restroom plan for your event.
Festival and street-event units planned around crowd size, event length and the city's permit thresholds.
How an organizer plans restroom units and counts for a Jacksonville event, from the permit review through the final servicing day.
Pumping, cleaning and restocking on a set schedule, with the state permit that governs the work.
Park and street event restrooms, matched to whichever city office reviews the permit for the event.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Jacksonville publishes no units-per-attendee ratio for fairs. The count is planned from the peak crowd, the length of the fair and the ADA cluster guidance, which calls for at least 5 percent of a cluster to be accessible. The plan is confirmed with the permitting office when the permit is reviewed.
The fair runs 11 days each November. The dates for any given year should be confirmed with the fair itself, since this page does not confirm the dates of future fairs. The restroom plan should be set once the dates are known.
Servicing runs on a daily cycle, with a full pump and clean before the gates open and a mid-day visit at the busiest units. Hand-wash stations are checked and restocked at each visit. The cycle is written down so the fair team knows when each cluster will be visited.
A fair of 500 or more people, counting every attendee including workers, vendors and volunteers, goes through the Office of Special Events. The application must be filed no less than 90 days before the event and no sooner than 365 days in advance. Smaller park events go through JaxParks or Traffic Engineering.
It is the permit a park event needs when it involves special equipment, electricity or a generator, has 50 to 499 people, is open to the public, takes donations or fees, or serves alcohol. A fair with rides, generators or food sales can meet several of those conditions. Check the restroom plan against the full application.
Yes, and that is where hand-wash stations are most useful. The units should sit a short walk from those areas but clear of food preparation and animal pens. The placement is agreed with the organizer, and the service route must reach the units without crossing the crowd.