Most area agricultural fairs won’t happen again this year
COVID-19 has made planning annual events a very difficult task
Organizers behind the Bobcaygeon Fair will decide later this month whether or not to go ahead with in-person events in light of the pandemic.
“We’re not sure if we will be having an in-person event, but we are planning on virtual events and a car rally tour, the same as last year,” said Lisa Humphries, secretary-treasurer of the Bobcaygeon Agricultural Society.
In 2020, health restrictions brought on by COVID-19 forced organizers to modify the fair. New events, including a virtual horse show, were introduced as a result.
Plans are underway to hold the horse show again, along with other virtual events, but a final decision will be made by Bobcaygeon Agricultural Society members on July 27, according to Humphries.
Organizers will be working with the regional health unit to determine which events will go ahead, she said.
Humphries said an outright cancellation of the fair was never on the table. By holding virtual shows last year, while making
plans to do the same in 2021, she said guests are offered “socially safe events” that keep community members “engaged and active.”
“We have adapted and changed to keep our name out in the community,” added Humphries.
The fair is set to run from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. If the fair goes ahead with in-person events, it will be an outlier among other regional fairs — most have either moved to become completely virtual, or have been cancelled altogether.
In the spring, the Lakefield Agricultural Society’s board of directors made the decision to nix the 2021 fair for the second year in a row. Last year’s cancellation of what would have been the 165th annual exhibition marked the first time the fair had ever been scrapped.
“(The decision was made) for the safety of everybody,” said Lakefield Agricultural Society president Cynthia Keech. “Also, we rely on sponsorships from businesses and we couldn’t ask them for money because they haven’t been making much during the pandemic.”
Organizers have no plans to add virtual shows in lieu of inperson events, but hope to return next year.
The Lakefield Fair is among several other long-running annual exhibitions that won’t be running this year. The Kinmount Fair, usually a big draw for locals and visitors alike, has been cancelled.
“We want to ensure we are able to host a fair like the ones we have all known and loved while maintaining the safety of all fair patrons,” a message on the Kinmount Fair’s website reads.
Organizers are focusing on returning in 2022 for the 150th annual fair. It’s set to run from Sept. 2 to 4 next year.
The Norwood Fair, which was scheduled to run from Oct. 9 to 11, has also been scrapped after “much consideration, discussion and anxiety,” an online post from the Norwood Agricultural Society states.
“We are in good shape and we look forward to ‘business as usual in 2022,’ ” said organizers.
The annual Peterborough Exhibition will be strictly virtual for the second year in a row. It will run from Aug. 5 to 8.
The Lindsay Exhibition is one of the few fairs welcoming guests in person. Organizers have added four additional days to “reduce the number of people on the grounds and at the barns at any one time to allow for better physical distancing,” according to an online statement from the society’s board of directors. The LEX is expected to run from Sept. 18 to 26.
Toronto’s 99th annual Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, which features winners from many Peterborough-area fairs and exhibitions, is replacing in-person events this year with a free, online educational experience. It’s scheduled to kick off in November.