Coronavirus Safety Concerns Complicate Event Planning
For the first time in more than 125 years, the status of this year’s Washita County Free Fair is up in the air. Amid fears of a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic and a host of state and federal regulations regarding public gatherings, the members of the Washita County Fair Board will be meeting Monday, June 29, to discuss how they can safely put on this year’s fair.
Board member Joe Thompson, along with Oklahoma State University Extension Office staff members Dana Church and Kristy Spalding, attended the June 15 meeting of the board of county commissioners to discuss the difficulties they’re facing in planning the fair and to seek guidance from the commissioners. Thompson told the commissioners the regulations from the state were complicated and might preclude the board from being able to put on a successful fair, but that he felt the board was committed to doing everything they could to safely hosting the event.
“I hate to be the one to say it, but after reading these guidelines how are we going to have a fair?” Thompson said.
The commissioners discussed the history of the fair and its importance to the community and expressed their desire to find a way to make the fair work.
The two major concerns discussed included the need for large numbers of volunteers and the presence of large numbers of people in the Washita County Activity Center at the same time. Spalding expressed concern for the OHCE group volunteers, who are generally older people and would be at increased risk from exposure to the virus. Those volunteers, she said, are the people who really make the fair work.
Church said several of the county’s 4-H participants have been working on projects for the fair since last year’s fair ended, and she was committed to making sure they would have the opportunity to have their entries judged and scored. She said the state Department of Agriculture has not yet released a decision on whether or not to hold the state fair, but was determined to do whatever was needed to ensure the county’s 4-H kids had the opportunity to qualify for the state fair, should it go on this year.
“At the point the decision is made we will create a plan in accordance with OSU and CDC guidelines and will distribute it as widely as possible,” she said.
The Fair Board will meet at 6:00 p.m. Monday, June 29, at the Washita County Activity Center to discuss their options and begin to craft a plan. Board member Jason Uecke said he hasn’t spoken with the other board members, but his goal is to find a way to make the fair happen.
“We’re going to do everything we can do to get it going,” he said.
The board will present those options to the county commissioners during the July 6 commission meeting. One thing everyone seems to be in agreement on, however, is that this year’s Washita County Free Fair will look very different from those of years past.
“It’s definitely going to be a modified fair,” Thompson said.