The Linn County Board of Commissioners and the Linn County Fair Board are urging everyone to get ready for an in-person fair this year. The annual multi-day affair went virtual last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but officials hope that the nationwide vaccination campaign will make it possible to conduct one this year.
The plan is for the fair to be scaled back from the usual four days to three, and the dates have been pegged for July 15-17. Some pandemic restrictions will likely still be in effect come summertime, however, meaning the fair will probably still look different than it has in past years.
“I’ve had some dialogue with the public health community at the state level that led me to believe that … by the time we get to mid-July, we’ll be able to host a county fair,” said Commissioner Roger Nyquist, who sits on the Fair Board, at a Tuesday meeting of the Linn County Board of Commissioners. “I’m an optimist, so I think that the people who have enjoyed going to the Linn County Fair in the past should expect to do so come July.”
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Linn County Fair and Expo Center director Randy Porter said that the staff there should be able to meet the timeline, though new employees will have to be added in the meantime.
“It’s all the little stuff that has to happen to get (the fairgrounds) back to presentable for events again,” Porter said of what’s required. “Realistically, I think we won’t be having any events out here, other than the fair, until the first of August.”
Currently, the fairgrounds are being used as a host site for vaccination clinics, as well as a larger-capacity venue to conduct legal proceedings that would normally be held inside courtrooms at the Linn County Courthouse.
Porter said that the fair is usually a “break-even” proposition for the county, but the Expo Center’s finances have taken a significant hit from the lack of smaller events that usually happen there throughout the year.
“It’s been devastating,” he said. “If we look at all the small events we haven’t been able to host — not even including all the summer events — we’re just about to top $1 million in lost revenue.”
Of course, local business owners, 4-H clubs and equestrian groups, among others, also rely on the fair. This was a reason that officials cited for the need to revive the fair this year.
“We’ve got all these mom-and-pop businesses that the fair supports,” Porter said. “They’ve been out of work since last summer, and they’re all bugging us to have a fair.”
Just what the fair will look like, both in terms of layout and capacity, remains to be seen and will largely depend on statewide restrictions and guidance handed down from the White House.
“I think it’s going to be kind of a wait-and-see game on what all the regulations will be out there,” Porter said. “But the word from the Fair Board is that it’s full steam ahead.”
