Country Fair still happening, just a little bit differently

“I’m really concerned about the numbers — I’m waiting to see what the numbers do, I’m talking to my buddies in infectious disease control. It could go way high or low.”

Karen McCausland, the fair’s co-chairwoman

ORANGE — Making the Orange Country Fair come together every year is a monumental task, but in 2021 especially, it’s meant “sleepless nights” for fair Co-Chairwoman Karen McCausland because, working at Yale -New Haven Hospital, she’s keenly aware of upward COVID-19 trends and yet is central to planning a huge public event.

“It’s sort of a conflict for me because I love the fair so much, but I want to do the best I can” to keep everyone safe, said McCausland, involved with the fair for decades. “This has given me sleepless nights … a lot of angst.”

Decisions about the fair are made by a committee, of which McCausland is only one voice. When they decided in June to hold the fair, COVID-19 numbers were low and trending down.

After being canceled last year because of the pandemic, the town’s premier event is set to go on in 2021 on Sept. 18-19, though it will be scaled down and have added precautions, such as directional arrows and possibly mask requirements in indoor buildings, McCausland said.

Despite some changes, the family-friendly agricultural fair still will have “something for everyone,” McCausland said. Thousands from throughout the state attend each year.

But she will be watching the COVID-19 numbers closely.

Here’s what’s known so far about the upcoming fair:

▶ The truck pull, usually held Friday night before the fair, won’t take place because of the large crowds it attracts, McCausland said. “We didn’t feel we could handle the crowds with COVID,” she said.

▶ There won’t be any “Pork Chop Pig Racing,” she said, because the Bethany farm that runs the popular event didn’t have enough notice. It’s just as well, she said, because there were concerns about the crowding the races create.

▶ There will be a huge shift in how projects are dropped off at the exhibit hall on the Friday before the fair. Folks entering items will fill out the tags themselves and hand them to a volunteer who will bring them into the hall. She urged people to get their entries in early and said there is a need for more volunteers because of the way things are being done. Anyone interested in volunteering can email orangecountryfair@gmail.com.

▶ Visitors won’t be required to wear masks in most places, but the committee still is deciding whether masks will be required in buildings such as the farm museum and animal barn, she said.

▶ Exhibits under tents will be vented, she said, by raising a flap of the structure.

▶ There will be directional signs in some locations.

▶ There are carnival rides scheduled as usual, she said.

▶ The skillet toss event run by McCausland is canceled for this year.

McCausland, manager of the hospital’s graduate medical education program, said she doesn’t work on a patient floor, but has plenty of contact with infectious disease experts.

The decision to hold the fair was made when COVID-19 numbers were low and on the downturn, she said, but since then, the variant and breakthrough cases have increased those numbers.

“I’m really concerned about the numbers — I’m waiting to see what the numbers do, I’m talking to my buddies in infectious disease control,” she said. “It could go way high or low.”

McCausland said she’ll be wearing a mask at just about every turn on fair days even though others may not.

“Yes, the chance of getting COVID outside is smaller, but we are seeing people with the vaccine get COVID and this is scary to me,” McCausland said. “I think you can only model good behavior.”

McCausland said she’ll take the day after the fair off and work in her office for several days with little contact and quarantine if she has any symptoms.

“I’m hoping people enjoy themselves — it’s been a long, long year,” McCausland said. “I think the fair is so popular because it’s a townwide event where people can bring their family to and feel comfortable and safe.”