A substantially smaller Allen County Fair is coming to Riverside Park in late July.
Fair Board members voted last week for a pared-down version of the fair due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fair will revolve exclusively around the 4-H members and their entries.
That means several staples of years past — including the rodeo, Baby Barnyard, Style Revue, open class entries, music shows on the free stage and the best-dressed pet contest — are a no-go.
“There’s been a lot of preparation and discussion about our feelings and how we can best serve the community,” Fair Board President Terryl Mueller said. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but we felt it was the decision to make, based on the information we had to go with.”
The Fair Board has visited for the past several weeks with state and local health officials, as well as Kansas State University Research and Extension experts, before making its decision.
“We waited as long as we possibly could to make the decision so we had as much information as possible, while still leaving enough time to implement the changes,” noted Southwind Extension Agent Carla Nemecek.
Still, she acknowledged, “it was the right decision, but it still doesn’t feel good. I don’t know how to describe that.”
“We appreciate the concerns and thoughtfulness of the Fair Board with having to make some very difficult decisions for the community,” Extension agent Kathy McEwan said.
Mueller, Nemecek and McEwan broke down the Fair Board’s discussions about pulling all of the non-4-H components from 2020’s rendition.
Each element was considered separately, Mueller noted. “We wanted to make sure we were thoughtful about every piece of those events, and not lump everything into one basket.”
Nemecek pointed to the large contingent of volunteers who both serve as judges for various events, and help set up and tear down exhibits in the Recreation Community Building.
In huddling with numerous state agencies over the past several weeks, the Fair Board took a macro look at their goals for 2020, with the potential volunteer base to make it happen.
“We were hoping to keep as much of the fair intact as we possibly could and could feasibly manage,” Mueller said. “One of the concerns with volunteers is some are at higher risk, and don’t feel comfortable with their safety. It really shortens the amount of assistance we have. Folks who have worked with us for a number of years won’t be able to do that. And without those key people, it makes it difficult to facilitate those kinds of events.”
Nemecek, meanwhile, noted the difficulty in working with the larger events..
“Having events with large crowds, comes with a whole other set of challenges with hand sanitizing and social distancing,” Nemecek said. “Things the Fair Board and 4-H families just aren’t prepared or equipped to navigate. The volume of folks who come in to see the rodeo is staggering.”
WHILE STREAMLINED, the Fair will still proceed on the same dates, July 23-27.
