This paper examines the increasing significance of the commercial fairs as a means of providing capital accumulation and increasing production for the local businessmen, in the case of Balıkesir. The early years of the republic witnessed the protectionist economic policies of the Turkish government which promoted and supported the commercial fairs throughout the country. These fairs were supposed to assist the development of a national and capitalist economy by gathering the producers and businessmen together from all around the country and creating new economic networks, beyond the apparent aim of increasing agricultural production. Besides the fairs on a national and international scale, local fairs (panayırs) gained more importance and were encouraged by both the central government, local governments and local merchants. Furthermore, several new fairs, in almost every district, took place in addition to the already occurring others. The central government facilitated the conditions of the fairs by reducing the rents, giving exemptions from the taxes or providing accommodation facilities or reducing the prices of railway transportation. However, it would be insufficient to explain the rise of the numbers of these local fairs just by a state-led policy. Instead, the role of the local merchants was significant regarding their efforts for seeking convenient channels for improving and developing their economic abilities within the unfavorable conditions of the great depression of the 1930s and Second World War. Accordingly, the increasing number and importance of Balıkesir’s local fairs present deliberate efforts of the local businessmen to enhance their profit by developing the power of the market and increasing the purchasing power of the peasants in particular. On the other hand, the emphasis on the social and entertainment (sefahat) function of the local fairs among the local producers and customers generated a problem for the local merchants since it was perceived as a deviation from the economic benefits of the organization. Drawing on local and national newspapers, government archives, periodicals and municipal records, this paper explores the business mind of the above-mentioned merchants on this very local scale. In this way, it highlights the considerable economic contribution of the local fairs, similar to their national and international counterparts. In addition, this paper reveals the active attempts of the local merchants to ensure the required capital accumulation and the production increase the capitalist development necessitates.