The 2020 Marion County Fair, in Marion, Ohio, has been canceled, due to public health concerns related to COVID-19. As of May 1, it is the only Ohio fair to cancel for the 2020 season.
The fair is still planning to hold shows for junior fair exhibitors and will be working with its local Ohio State Extension office to organize those.
The fair board announced the decision in an April 30 Facebook post. The fair was scheduled for June 29 through July 4. Single-day shows for junior fair exhibitors are tentatively scheduled for July 18-25.
Keith Seckel, fair board president, said in the post that the board is hoping that rules on gatherings will be more lenient by July, so that crowds can still attend shows to support junior fair exhibitors.
“Governor DeWine and Dr. Amy Acton are the only ones that can truly allow us to move forward with this alternative solution to a county fair,” he said.
So far, as some businesses reopen in early to mid May, Ohio is still limiting gatherings to 10 people or less. Gov. Mike DeWine has said that mass gatherings, like the fairs, will be some of the last events to reopen, but has not given a timeline on when that could happen.
