RICHMOND, Va. -- The State Fair of Virginia will not take place this year due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
"Endless hours were spent analyzing options for a traditional State Fair. With the commonwealth of Virginia still in Phase 3, and a cap of 1,000 guests permitted for fairs and events, there was no realistic financial model," a State Fair of Virginia spokesperson posted online. "Planning for the safety of guests during the COVID-19 pandemic is a complex and ever-changing situation. We took our time looking at all of the different ways to make the event work under the current COVID-19 limitations. That included attendance, social distancing, face masks, temperature checks and other CDC and public health guidelines. We considered countless scenarios and found that a lot of these options were not only not feasible, but under the severe restrictions, the annual Fair would not be the traditional event that our community loves."
The 2021 State Fair of Virginia is scheduled to take place September 24 - October 3.
For the health of all Virginians, we’ve made the tough decision to cancel this year’s State Fair. We have heavy hearts with this decision but we look forward to gathering to celebrate the best of Virginia in 2021, when we can be together safely. 💔🎡 pic.twitter.com/9t3CEesxLk
— State Fair of VA (@StateFairVA) July 23, 2020