Gov. Mike DeWine hasn’t been completely thrilled by the safety measures taken at the early county fairs. It prompted somewhat of a warning for fairs to make sure they follow the state guidelines put out there, to keep everyone safe and the coronavirus at bay.
"Some were some were not," said DeWine. "You know, we saw things like we had one county fair that we, so far, know of 19 cases that arose out of that county fair. We’ve also seen pictures of some fairs where people were not social distancing. We’ve seen grandstands full of people."
And that’s where Auglaize County Fair has turned their attention after a special meeting. To take more precaution, there are some new guidelines for their free grandstand events.
"This year we are going to issue arm bands, prior to that day’s event," Ed Doenges said, fair manager. "3 ‘o clock in the afternoon we’ll have two locations at the fairgrounds where you can come and pick up that free wrist band. And then when we open the gates that night for that event, you have to have that wristband on to get in there. When the wristbands are up, they’re up."
Auglaize County was already expecting to put on a full fair while taking safety measures. The gospel tent will be larger to spread out more. Hand sanitizer will be everywhere. And with the latest state health order, guests are expected to wear a face covering.
"We’re hoping people understand that and they come in and respect what we’re trying to do and help us out with the mask," Doenges said. "Help us out with the social distancing. We can only do so much. We can put it in place, but we need the people to really step up and do what they need to do to help us put this fair on."
Now with everything in place, the countdown has begun to Aug. 2.
"I was a little bit nervous a couple days ago, but I’m feeling more comfortable," said Doenges. "I think we can do this. I think we can put on a good fair. I think we can put on a safe fair. And we just hope everybody comes out, enjoys it."
The only thing the fair will be without is a live livestock auction. The fair runs through Aug. 8.
