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The challenges of this year’s fair season have presented opportunities for some fairs, like the Carroll County Fair, to experiment, and to cast a wider net for junior fair support.

Today, Gov. Mike DeWine ordered that all Ohio fairs starting July 31 and after must be limited to junior fairs only, following COVID-19 case increases and outbreaks connected to two county fairs.

Following Gov. DeWine's July 22 press conference, and a report on the Pickaway County Fair, other fairs in Ohio have modified their plans for 2020, some completely canceling their senior fairs, under guidance from local health departments.

Yesterday, Gov. Mike DeWine criticized early county fairs, saying a COVID-19 outbreak has already been connected to one, though he did not say which one. He also issued a statewide mask mandate for Ohio.  This morning, the Pickaway County Fair, the first Ohio fair to proceed with a full or modified fair in June, disputed local health district reports linking the fair to an outbreak.

Ohio fair boards are continuing to modify their decisions for 2020, as local health departments and other officials respond to increased COVID-19 cases.

The Muskingum County Fair Board decided July 13 to cancel the 2020 fair, just under a month after the board announced it was planning on a full fair with modifications.

A lot changed between when the Harrison County Fair book went to the printer, and when the fair’s 2020 shows began June 24. But from June 24-26, 4-H'ers still gathered to show and sell their market projects at the 2020 fair.

Ohio fairs’ responses to new state guidelines and funding announced June 9 have varied across the board. Several fairs have reversed earlier decisions to cancel.  Others have stood by their initial decisions.

The Columbiana and Carroll county fairs are some of the latest Ohio fairs to cancel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Ohio legislators and fair boards try to figure out solutions, people in the carnival industry and other businesses that rely on the fairs are waiting to see if they’ll be able to salvage their 2020 season.