Fairbury latest fair to cancel
The Fairbury Fair board has made the tough decision to cancel this year’s fair.
“We all thought about it long and hard and we delayed it as long as we possibly could, hoping maybe something would change with the state,” said fair board president Gunner Sullivan. “The sand has run out of our hourglass and we needed to make a decision.”
Board members worked closely with the Livingston County Public Health Department to try and put on a fair but the biggest obstacle was the state not allowing carnivals to set up.
“The carnival couldn’t come because the state is not sending out inspectors,” Sullivan explained.
Without the carnival, it would only be a partial fair and the board decided not to hold the event if it was not the regular fair. On a positive note, organizers have more time to plan for a big fair in 2021 and all of the pieces were in place with entertainment contracts, which should roll over to next year.
The fair continues working with vendors on rescheduling and future announcements are expected, according to Sullivan. He said they also have to be financially responsible for the fair’s future.
More information can be found at www.thefairburyfair.com or by searching for The Fairbury Fair on Facebook.
Here is the press release issued by the Fairbury Fair this week:
“The Fairbury Fairboard has made the heart wrenching decision to postpone the 2020 Fairbury Fair.
This decision wasn’t taken lightly, but after working with the Livingston County Health Department we determined that the evolving Covid19 situation and its impact on community health and well-being, left us no choice but to postpone this year’s fair.
The safety of the Fairbury Fair’s visitors, participants, sponsors and the local area is our highest priority in producing the annual fair even under normal circumstances. What all of us are dealing with now is truly unchartered territory.
As we dealt with the many hurdles posed to us, the biggest issue was the carnival itself. Currently the state of Illinois is not inspecting carnival rides and in our opinion we couldn’t put on the fair without the carnival. With the Fairbury Fair’s long tradition of excellence, we didn’t want to produce anything less than a complete fair, something that all of us have come to expect.
We tried our best and waited much longer than other events before we made this tough decision. Unfortunately the sand in our hour glass ran out and we had no other choice.
However, we’ve turned our hourglass over and we now start the clock on the 2021 version of the 145th Fairbury Fair with dates of Aug 18th thru Aug 22nd!! We are currently working with our entertainment for this year and getting them moved to next year’s dates. One thing is for sure, when we all get together next August, be prepared for an awesome fair as we continue to build upon its great history!
From the entire fairboard, THANK YOU for your understanding and please stay well! We look forward to seeing you in 2021!”
