ASHLAND — The Ashland County Fair will go on as normally as possible, according to fair board manager Steve Englet.
The annual fair, set for Sunday, Sept. 20 through Saturday, Sept. 26, will include rides, food, animals and grandstand events with any required social distancing measures in place.
“We’re having a fair. Put it in big bold letters,” Englet said. “We’re off and running, and we’ll have as normal a fair that we can have.”
In late May, the fair manager was uncertain about the fair’s future. A week after the 2020 Ohio State Fair was canceled, Englet said it was “too soon to tell” about the local fair, but two options were being considered.
The fair board was considering an “agriculture only” fair, which would allow children in 4H and other programs to show their animals and compete without crowds, or the “normal as possible” option.
At that time, Gov. Mike DeWine released regulations “strongly recommending” Agricultural Societies limit fairs to allow only for 4-H and FFA “Junior Fair” activities, but recently announced guidelines makes holding a more regular fair possible.
“This news makes it very positive, so long as it will hold,” Englet said. “There was a restriction on keeping animals on the fairgrounds for more than 72 hours, and it was turning our schedule upside down. That was removed, and I think everything else, we can deal with.”
Though initially limited to ten people in the ring at livestock shows, now those involved must simply stay six feet apart.
To prevent large gatherings in other portions of the fairgrounds, measures should be taken. It’s recommended that one-way traffic paths be established, particularly in buildings.
Additionally, each fair that moves forward with its junior fair program will receive $50,000 to help them operate safely.
Earlier, Englet had expressed concerns about holding a junior fair without the remainder of fair activities.
“That’s the mission of the fair, but the prize money that often comes from the extra stuff. It generates revenue to cover the mission,” Englet said in May. “So if we have a fair that doesn’t have a gate (isn’t open to the public), we have serious challenges.”
The promised money eases this burden and will help cover new costs, such as more disinfecting supplies and PPE.
Grand stand events will go on with social distancing requirements in place, but a decision is yet to be made on whether or not a concert will be held.
“If we can only get maybe 50 percent of people in the stands that won’t pay the bill for that. Even in a good year it’s hard to break even,” Englet said about the concert.
The latest fair guidelines have been updated and can be viewed at coronavirus.ohio.gov/static/responsible/County-Fairs.pdf.
