Ohio fairs reduced to junior fairs only, no rides

Announced day or two after our county fair had an hours long special board meeting fighting with local officials over whether or not to have a fair so all of that was for nothing...and I'm 90% sure my son doesn't have a job now.

Apparently there were several shows already set up and set to go when this decision was made. Not happy campers they are......

I was under the impression those that were set up and ready (like Summit County) were still able to proceed

Governor DeWine announced that county and independent fairs with an opening day on or after July 31, 2020, will be limited to specific junior fair events. Junior fair activities such as livestock competitions and 4-H and Future Farmers of America competitions for kids and teenagers may continue as planned, but junior fairs must develop a plan that reduces crowding in barns, such as limiting entrance to only the immediate family of those actively showing their animals or projects. A 10 p.m. curfew will also be instituted for the barns, buildings, and midways. Harness racing can proceed with no spectators, but rides, games, and grandstand events will be prohibited to limit crowds and better prevent coronavirus spread.

Change was based on opening day not setup.

^^^ yep anyone set up and ready for this coming week or next week wasted a lot of money that nobody is probably going to get back because the governor changed his mind. That is part of what is really killing me about life in general right now. You can't plan for anything more than a couple days ahead and have any real confidence you will actually end up doing the activity. None. All it takes is a press conference from the governor to kill anything you were hoping to do no matter how simple it may have been.

Paisley said:

All it takes is a press conference from the governor to kill anything you were hoping to do no matter how simple it may have been.

Maybe a better way to say it is "All it takes is a pandemic to kill anything you were hoping to do no matter how simple it may have been."

DeWine said earlier in the week that he would discuss bars and restaurants at today's press conference. Lets of speculation as to what will result. We shall see.

Shades said:

Paisley said:

All it takes is a press conference from the governor to kill anything you were hoping to do no matter how simple it may have been.

Maybe a better way to say it is "All it takes is a pandemic to kill anything you were hoping to do no matter how simple it may have been."

All it takes it the governor's response to the pandemic on any given day...I can adjust my behavior and habits and expectations to the pandemic as a whole if things are relatively consistent but I can't predict what the governor will decide to order cancelled or closed at any given time so if I need something not sold at Walmart can I plan to shop for it next week or is he going to order another shutdown in 48 hours?

That's fair. But expecting consistency during this mess is asking a lot.

GoBucks89 said:

Harness racing can proceed with no spectators, but rides, games, and grandstand events will be prohibited to limit crowds and better prevent coronavirus spread.

I am trying to understand the viability of harness racing without spectators, outside of maybe the Delaware County Fair. Otherwise it's like permitting casinos to operate without bettors, isn't it?

^^I expect the inconsistency of people around me getting sick or having to suddenly come up with meals for quarantined families or my husband just suddenly getting called into work because a coworker has just been quarantined...again... that kind of inconsistency I'm expecting for quite some time. I'm dealing with it. I just don't appreciate the governor popping in with broad mandates to cancel or close things suddenly adding to the already unpredictable situation.

The last sentence is what I am struggling with. What else is he supposed to do - let the fairs go on as planned and risk a huge spike because people will not wear a mask and stay 6' away from each other while they are eating corn dogs? He has to make decisions based on what is going on at the moment. And those decisions have consequences.

I know you are frustrated because of your son's loss of his job at the fair. I am frustrated too, but for a non-fair reason. My son, who is going into his senior year at Ohio State, was signed up with a local high school's marching band to help them out this summer and fall. Great money for him, and more importantly, an awesome line on his resume which I feel would have really improved his chances at landing a job. Guess what - that all but disappeared yesterday when the school district said they are going to 100% virtual schooling and no sports. No sports = no marching band.

I feel terrible for my son. It sucks. But what is the alternative - bury our heads in the sand and say to heck with the virus? We know how that will play out.

I am trying to understand the viability of harness racing without spectators, outside of maybe the Delaware County Fair. Otherwise it's like permitting casinos to operate without bettors, isn't it?

I know next to nothing about horse racing (other than having gone to Keeneland a couple times and losing a few bucks). And even less about harness racing. Its not clear to me if the harness racing statement is related to activity at fairs. Sentence also mentions rides, games and grandstand events which to me would be fair activities (rather than what you would see at a harness racing track). Maybe there are kids/juniors who spend time with harness racing (like they do showing various farm animals) and they want that to continue even without fans? May also be someone lobbied for that exemption because they had a kid involved in the event.

Here is a story about harness racing yesterday:

https://www.sidneydailynews.com/news/181772/harness-racing-proceeds...spectators

^^ Our fair was already cancelled and made Jr. Fair only by the fair board the night before after a huge amount of drama so our fair was toast no matter what the governor did at this point and wasn't supposed to happen until end of August. I have not seen mention yet if there were any fairs set to open Monday and that's more the issue that gets me. If there was one scheduled for Monday they would have already put an immense amount of time and expense into following the guidelines given in June only to have the rug pulled out at the last minute. Not even a week left to go. I hope there weren't any full fairs scheduled for Monday. If there were they should have been allowed to go on and just be the last ones.

^^Interesting - I would have guessed there would be no point / interest in racing without spectators. Harness racing is a fixture at county fairs, but I wouldn't think the smaller fairs would generate any significant off-track betting to make it worthwhile. The article makes it seem like this year's purses are paid out of last year's take (in saying that next year's purses will be smaller), which makes sense I guess.

I grew up in Delaware County, where there is a race called the Little Brown Jug that gets national attention - ESPN used to carry it. It's the biggest day of the year in the town of Delaware.