The Latah County fair will still go on this September, albeit with required masks and other changes.
The Latah County Fair Board met July 7 and 20 to adapt the guidelines and events of the fair, still scheduled September 17-20 at the Latah County Fairgrounds.
Some exhibits and events have been cancelled, including the carnival, the Poetry and Great Outdoors competitive exhibit and the Latah Railway model. In addition, all livestock barns will be closed during the animal shows.
The county fair board also plans to implement strategies to promote social distancing and a safer fair experience. The Commercial Vendor and exhibit buildings will have different layouts, exhibit check-in and pick-up times frames will be longer and the animal auction will be held outside.
“We’ve seen over a 50% reduction of those areas, so the new layout for the booths that we’ve been able to retain will be much more spread out with much more space in between,” Fair Manager Jim Logan said. “We are following and promoting social distancing guidelines not only for our patrons, but also for all of the booths, vendors and attractions.”
Face coverings will be required for all attendees, including the public and exhibitors. This guideline coincides with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s official recommendation and the city of Moscow’s mask mandate, which began in July.
Logan expects less vendors will be able to host booths due to uncertainty in this year’s fair attendance.
Vendors who still attend will be encouraged to implement additional precautions to keep themselves and attendees safe. Suggestions made by the board include sneeze guards, hand sanitizer, refusing cash sales and limiting customer contact.
Country Snack Shack, a returning fair vendor, still plans to open a booth at the fair with the addition of extra precautions.
“We’ve put up plexiglass face shields over the registers, all employees now wear masks and we already wear gloves. Except now the difference will be cashiers will wear gloves as well, we hand out all utensils individually wrapped and all condiments are single served,” Country Snack Shack owner Rob Regalia said.
The expected decline in attendances could cause a lack of sales for the fair and individual vendors. Regalia is not as concerned because the vendor has a following from previous years at the fair. However, the fair itself may see repercussions in the future.
“It might affect future fairs,” Logan said. “We won’t know the fair expenses until the fair is complete.”
Despite these complications, Logan and the fair board decided opening the fair while following health official’s guidelines gives vendors a “fair chance to see some revenue before the fair season is over.” He said further changes may be made to the layout and schedule of the fair.
“We hope to be able to offer our modified fair and if people are so inclined and are willing to attend, we hope they do,” Logan said. “But we understand if people elect not to attend this year, we are totally okay with that.”
The fair board plants to meet again Aug. 3 and is prepared to make necessary changes to keep attendees safe. Those with questions, comments or concerns about the fair or changes are encouraged to call (208) 883-5722 or email [email protected]
Carter Kolpitcke can be reached at [email protected]