GARDEN CITY, Idaho — The Western Idaho Fair has been canceled for the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. The last cancellation was in 1935, due to the Great Depression.
Western Idaho Fair will be continuing the 4-H and FFA youth exhibits, competitions and sales in 2020. This will allow all youth participants in those programs to complete their projects and sell their animals as planned. The 4-H and FFA Show & Sales will take place in August at Expo Idaho.
Since the beginning of April, the Western Idaho Fair Staff has been meeting regularly to discuss and analyze all departments and facets of the Western Idaho Fair in the hopes it could happen this year. After discussions and modeling, staff felt the requirements extremely diminish the overall experience of the fair and create potential conflicts and financial risk, which could impact future fairs.
Postponing the fair to a later date was not a feasible option for staff members, as thousands of exhibitors and part-time employees, hundreds of businesses, and dozens of entertainers must align themselves over the same dates. Unfortunately, postponing a large event like the Fair, with many types of routing and scheduling needs, is not a viable option.
For months, staff have been brainstorming and discussing how to bring fairgoers a 2020 Western Idaho Fair while maintaining the health and safety of the community. After getting advice from local and state health officials, and considering many possible scenarios, staff felt social distancing requirements will extremely diminish the overall experience of the fair.
The 2021 Western Idaho Fair is scheduled for August 20 – 29, 2021.
To learn more about the decision, the Western Idaho Fair has developed an FAQ that can be found here.
