Planning for county fair moves forward, with contingencies

With the Washington County Fair still three months away, officials with the fair board and the University of Idaho Extension Office in Washington County are crossing their fingers and moving forward with the planning required for the event in Cambridge.
 The hope is that the restrictions on public gathering associated with the coronavirus pandemic won’t be an issue by then and the governor’s staged reopening will allow 4-H and FFA participants and visitors to attend the week-long fair. The county fair is scheduled for July 27 to Aug. 1.
 Extension office officials are not taking any chances, however, and if there are still restrictions in place on the number of people that can gather in one place due to coronavirus safety measures there needs to be alternatives in place to hold fair events.
 “Right now, we’re going ahead with the idea that in July maybe we will be able to have the fair just like normal, but we need to have some contingency plans in place for that, so the kids don’t feel let down or pressed at the last minute,” extension educator Mary Ridout said.
 In an update for county commissioners on fair planning, Ridout said there is some concern about what the situation will be with coronavirus precautions and guidelines on large gatherings when the fair rolls around in late July.
 “There is the question of whether things will ease enough that we can have that big of a gathering or whether we have to adjust and compensate in some way,” Ridout said. “We’re looking at the different options. We’ll be talking about those options with the fair board as a contingency.”
 Fair organizers will get some guidance from state 4-H officials later on this summer as it gets closer to fair time across southern Idaho. There may be ways to hold some fair events remotely and reduce the numbers, if that is required as a coronavirus precaution.
 The governor has unveiled a four-stage reopening schedule that would allow events that involve crowds of more than 50 people to resume by the end of June, if criteria are met and the state experiences no major coronavirus outbreak or spike in cases.  
 Ridout said everyone involved in the fair and 4-H want to make sure the kids can go through with their projects and feel like they have accomplished something.
 “We want everybody to be able to finish their projects. That’s our primary goal,” Ridout said.
 The 4-H and FFA members have already started on their animal projects and will put in months of effort to raise their poultry, rabbits, pigs, steers, goats, sheep and more. Winning a grand champion ribbon for their animal is pretty special at the fair. They will get paid for their investment of time and money on the final day of the fair with the livestock sale.
 The market beef weigh-in took place at the Kerner Cattle Company feedlot in Weiser in early March before the coronavirus pandemic appeared in Idaho. The weigh-ins for other project animals were canceled.
 During the governor’s stay-home order, which was first implemented on March 25 and then extended to April 30, when it expired, some 4-H clubs in the county were able to meet remotely.
 “We’re pretty proud of them for keeping going and rolling with it,” Ridout said.
 There are eight 4-H clubs in Washington County with about 175 kids enrolled. Due to the unprecedented circumstances, some 4-H projects may be extended even beyond the fair so kids can complete all the requirements.
 “There’s going to be a lot of adjusting this year in terms of our 4-H programming, but I think it will work out in the long run,” Ridout said.
 Commissioners allocated $74,000 for the fair in this year’s budget. They asked to be kept in the loop on fair planning and expressed optimism that events will be opened up by the time the fair arrives.