Board cancels fair for this year

No blue ribbons, fun rides because of pandemic concerns.

Gwinnett County Fair is taking the year off due to ongoing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

The fair typically hosts livestock shows, performances, rides and other fun attractions in mid-September, and the 2020 fair was planned to begin Sept. 17.

But it was announced Monday there would be no fair in 2020 after the fair’s board decided it would be “in the best interest” of staff, volunteers and guests to cancel.

Fairs are allowed to occur in Georgia currently but must follow state health department guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Gwinnett County has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, with nearly 12,000 cases recorded since March.

Gwinnett, the second most populous county in Georgia, has the most recorded cases in the state.

Its rate of cases per 100,000 is 1,223.5, ranking 58th among Georgia’s 159 counties.

The annual fair joins more than a dozen other events canceled or postponed at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds due to coronavirus.

Fundraisers, a gun show and dachshund races have all been canceled, and other events, including a Girl Scouts campout, have been postponed.

While not holding its usual events, the fairgrounds did serve as an early voting location for the first time in the June 9 primary election.

The fair plans to return as normal in September 2021, according to a statement on its website.