Festivities kicked off at the Auglaize County Fair for their opening day on Sunday. What would have been a packed fairground was instead rather quiet because of the last-minute cancellation of most fair entertainment. Now, vendors are running into a unique problem.
It’s another local fair where the main and only focus is the junior fair. Auglaize County was nearly a week away from pulling off a full-scale county fair when the state orders forced the fair board to rethink having rides, grandstand events, and other fair favorites. Even the vendors were stocked and prepared for the large crowds the fair was expecting.
Patrick Severt who runs the Pork Barn at the fair every year says, “Most of the vendors already were committed and it’s going to be a tough season to make a profit.”
Severt says the decision to downscale the fair came a day too late.
“I had just talked to our meat supplier, and she says ‘I just about got it all done,’ and then I talked to the Pepsi supplier and I put my order in the day before they cancelled everything. So it couldn’t have been at a worse time.”
Although the decision came to Severt as a surprise, he is hopeful that the community will still show the fair some support. To see a full list of Junior Fair events and some featured food vendors, visit the Auglaize County Fair Facebook page.
