The Gloucester Fair will unveil a new format for 2011, organizers decided during a planning meeting Jan. 12, including the fair running in conjunction with the carnival rides for five days.

The 2011 fair will be held Tuesday, Aug. 2-Saturday, Aug. 6. By holding the fair for more days—and combining it with the carnival rides each day—organizers hope that attendance will improve, that the merged event will bring more attention to the overall fun, and that there will be more cushion in case of inclement weather, said Carol Steele, Gloucester’s director of parks, recreation and tourism, whose department provides support to the Gloucester Fair Committee.

Unlike many past years when the fair ended on a Sunday, Steele said that the carnival operator notified the committee last year that he could not operate here on Sunday any longer because he needed it as a travel day to get to his next destination.

Last year, the carnival rides operated starting Wednesday, with the...