MANSFIELD — The 170th Richland County Fair takes place next week, on a much smaller scale.
The fair will not offer rides, a merchant’s tent, entertainment or grandstand events. It will be closed to most of the public.
The reduction in activities came after Gov. Mike DeWine announced that county and independent fairs would be limited to junior fairs and harness racing only.
According to Gary Blum, president of the Richland County Agricultural Society, the junior fair will include market livestock and “still” projects such as arts, sewing and baking. Nearly 800 youngsters have registered their projects.
“I think the numbers are down a little bit, because of (the pandemic),” Blum said. “People don’t want to take the chance on that and I understand that. But yeah, I don’t think we’re going to have as many as we normally do.”
Each exhibitor can bring up to eight immediate family members to the show and auction, but the events are closed to the general public. Everyone who enters the fairgrounds must wear a mask.
According to Blum, exhibit animals will leave the fair right after they’ve been judged and placed. Market livestock will be auctioned off on Friday, but exhibitors will hold a picture of their animal rather than bring it into the ring.
“The governor wanted something for the kids. We weren’t sure what was going to happen there for a while, it was just kind of touch and go,” Blum said. “The junior fair kids, they raised these animals, they went ahead and got their animals anyway, with hopes that they could do something.
“It’s just really a bad situation, but at least it gives them a chance to show what they’ve done and they get a little chance of something normal for the summer. Even though it’s not going to be what it normally has been, it’s at least it’s kind of like the fair.”
Savanna Harriman echoed Blum’s sentiments.
“I’m just glad we’re still able to have a livestock show and exhibit our animals that we’ve been working with all year,” said Harriman, who serves as president of the Junior Fair Board.
“All these kids bought these animals to take them to this county fair and be able to exhibit them and sell them. If we wouldn’t have had that opportunity to do that, kids wouldn’t know what to do with some of their animals and they’d kind of be lost on what they were supposed to do.”
A senior at Clear Fork High School, Harriman will exhibit two market goats, a market lamb, a beef feeder calf and a beef breeding heifer this year.
While the fair is probably its most well-known event, the Richland County Fairgrounds operate all year round as a public event space. The fair was not the first fairground event to be impacted by COVID-19.
The fairgrounds were set to host the The Mid-Ohio Home Show, Ohio Civil War Show, Richland Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo, a bingo game and an annual flea market this year. All were canceled.
The facility also rents space for personal events like weddings, graduations and birthday parties.
“Like all businesses, and all fairs and venues, our revenue is way off. Our staff was all laid off,” Blum said. “With the fair being what it is, it’s going to hurt because we won’t have rides, we won’t have grandstand entertainment, we won’t have the stuff we normally do that generates revenue. It just is what it is.
“We’ll hopefully get through this year and then maybe next year will be a regular year.”
