URBANA — The Champaign County Fair in Urbana and the Georgetown Fair in Vermilion County are the latest summer events to fall victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a post on their Facebook page, the Champaign County Fair Association board of directors stated that “after weeks of monitoring and many discussions between our board members and local health officials, we feel it is in the best interest of the county, vendors, exhibitors, staff, and fair-goers” to cancel this year’s fair, which was slated to start July 23rd.
Meanwhile, the Georgetown Fair Association also took to their Facebook page and website Friday, to announce the cancellation of this year’s fair, which had been slated to begin August 8.
“Due to the current world situation with the Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing and guidelines as it relates to large group gatherings, we have decided that this is the responsible thing to do,” the fair association stated.
The Georgetown Fair had already canceled its June 28 Beef Preview show, due to concerns about the coronavirus.
Both fairs say tickets already sold for their grandstand shows will be refunded. The Beach Boys and country singer Billy Currington were to perform at the Champaign County Fair, while Tracy Lawrence was scheduled for the Georgetown Fair.
The Champaign County and Georgetown fairs join several agricultural fairs that were canceled or postponed this year, including the Ford, Iroquois, Macon, Vermilion and Moultrie-Douglas county fairs, as well as the Fisher Community Fair in northern Champaign County.
Illinois’ two state fairs, the Illinois State Fair in Springfield and the DuQuoin State Fair in southern Illinois, are still slated for late summer. But Gov. JB Pritzker said in early May that it was unlikely that they would be held, until effective treatments for the coronavirus are widely available.
