On Wednesday morning, the Schuylkill County Fair Association announced they would be cancelling the 2020 Schuylkill County Fair.Fair association President Paul Kennedy made the announcement.
"A series of virtual board meetings have been held since March for the Foundation for Agriculture and
Resource Management and the Schuylkill County Fair Association regarding our options with this year’s fair. At a special meeting held on Monday, June 8th, the board, unwillingly and with a very heavy heart, conceded to the necessity of cancelling the 2020 Schuylkill County Fair. The end-product that is the fair is not produced in only a few days. The fair as we know it takes year-round planning, weeks of grounds preparation and support from dozens of partner organizations, businesses, and agencies."
Kennedy cited that the grounds of the Fairgrounds were damaged by flooding in October of 2019 and due to construction industry being shut down, the work was unable to be done in the spring.
He also cited the restrictions in place for their partners in 4H and FFA programs that are still working to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In a statement, Kennedy said,
"Sponsors who have generously given to the fair for decades are now facing financial shortfalls as they work to re-open their businesses from the government-ordered shutdowns. Vendors who rent midway space to exhibit and sell their products have no product to showcase as the nation recovers from a supply chain interruption.
Our carnival faces a massive insurance premium while already losing half of their season’s events as income.
We as an association have been given strict marching orders from our insurance carrier with
considerable financial implications for non-compliance.
considerable financial implications for non-compliance.
There is still great uncertainty of when gatherings of 250 persons or more would be allowed per
Governor Tom Wolf. Our fair welcomes over 35,000 guests annually, and after our staff, vendors, and
exhibitors would be accounted for on a daily basis, the number of allowed guests per day would be
minimal at best. There is a lack of any concrete guidance or regulations regarding what will be required of events after the “green phase” is terminated. Although some guidance has been released, it has come without an anticipated ending strategy. Frustratingly, available information changes by the day and makes things more unclear by its vagueness. This makes planning any event extremely difficult.
Governor Tom Wolf. Our fair welcomes over 35,000 guests annually, and after our staff, vendors, and
exhibitors would be accounted for on a daily basis, the number of allowed guests per day would be
minimal at best. There is a lack of any concrete guidance or regulations regarding what will be required of events after the “green phase” is terminated. Although some guidance has been released, it has come without an anticipated ending strategy. Frustratingly, available information changes by the day and makes things more unclear by its vagueness. This makes planning any event extremely difficult.
Our weeklong fair is supported by the proceeds from year-round fundraising efforts and property rentals.
The negative financial impact caused by pre-fair revenue loss is crippling to our budget. As mentioned,
for some sponsors there is still uncertainty and for others there is a complete inability to remain
committed this year. Additionally, the significant financial outlay that must occur in the weeks leading up to the fair could never be recuperated if we were ultimately not permitted to operate or were forced to do so at such a reduced capacity. A loss of that magnitude could result in years of recovery efforts.
Our goal every year is to enhance your experience when visiting the fair. We do not feel it is in the best
interest of you, our valued guests, or ourselves, to offer you an event that is sub-par or completely
downscaled. We are not in the business of doing things halfway. We want you to get our very best, 100% of the time.
The primary mission of our organization since its early days at the Old County Farm has always been to
support our youth exhibitors in their agricultural education endeavors. Although we are unable to
produce the fair that you have come to know and love, this component has been the subject of intense
discussion.
We are proud to announce that the Fair and its partner organizations have developed several plans to
help to continue to meet that mission!
Closing the door on the 2020 fair ensures that the gates will open in 2021.".
Details for these activities will be released during the week of June 15th after the final specifics are identified. Vendors who had committed to the 2020 fair will be contacted by the vendor coordinator to discuss their options leading into the 2021 fair.
The 2021 Schuylkill County Fair will be held August 2nd through August 7th, 2021.