California Mid-State Fair canceled due to coronavirus concerns
The 2020 California Mid-State Fair has been canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The 16th District Agricultural Association Board — which governs the Paso Robles fair — voted unanimously Thursday to cancel the event.
“The well-being and health of our community is our top priority,” board president David Baldwin said in a news release. “Putting on a safe and fun fair has always been our goal, and we had remained hopeful that the 2020 fair could indeed happen. However, the current restrictions have made that impossible.
“We will miss this year’s fair tremendously, but we are now turning our focus to making sure our 4-H, FFA and Industrial Arts exhibitors are taken care of.”
The fair was scheduled to be held July 22 to Aug. 2 at the Paso Robles Event Center.
Fair officials waited as long as possible to cancel the popular event, which draws thousands of visitors to San Luis Obispo County every year, even as it became clear that state coronavirus restrictions prohibiting large gatherings would make holding the fair very difficult.
The cancellation announcement comes one day after fair officials postponed the Central Coast Wine Competition, Central Coast Vinegar Competition and California Craft Spirits Competition until a later date in the summer. The fair’s Home Winemaking Competition has also been postponed.
Interim CEO Colleen Bojorquez — who took over from previous CEO Michael Bradley after his sudden departure in March — said during a press call that fair officials met with county leaders and Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein prior to Thursday’s vote.
“The probability of being able to open to a mass gathering in July — it was very clear that that’s likely not going to happen,” Bojorquez said. “That was the thing that was the big decision-maker.”
Fair staff prepared various scenarios for different potential crowd sizes, depending on what might have been allowed, Bojorquez said. But, eventually officials ran out of time, and the need to cancel became clear.
“I felt a little like the astronauts yesterday,” Bojorquez said. “They’re sitting in that rocket, ready to be launched, and the weather just didn’t permit it. And that’s very similar to how we are. We’re ready to go — we know what we’re doing, we have a seasoned staff ... they know what to do, and we’re ready to do it. There’s just that one factor that is keeping us from doing it and it’s the COVID-19 crisis.”
Fair faces financial challenges
The cancellation means the Paso Robles Event Center will lose a significant chunk of its operating budget. The fair represents 90% of the Event Center’s revenue, which leaves it cash-strapped and in need of state aid, Bojorquez said.
Fair leaders are pushing residents to contact their elected representatives and advocate for additional funding, she said.
The Event Center is planning to host swap meets and other events to try to make up for the lost revenue. But that likely won’t be enough to keep the fair afloat.
“We rely on event revenues to operate,” Bojorquez said. “We don’t receive any assistance from the state. The state has currently denied any funding, although we need it now desperately. So our revenue streams have been severed, and now we need to look at ways that we can stay around to 2021.”
Fans react to Mid-State Fair’s cancellation
Many people took to social media to share their opinion on the board’s decision to cancel the 2020 fair.
Several online commenters wrote that they felt sad for the children who have worked year-round to raise livestock for the fair.
“Thinking of the 4-H and FFA kids and their animals. Someone should create ‘Adopt an animal’ to help these kids,” Patty Pena-Foster commented on the fair’s Facebook post.
Some people said that they were worried about the financial impact of postponing the fair, arguing that the event could have happened with restrictions.
“So disappointed to hear this news. I get it that it’s hard to please everyone, but they could have still done the 4-H part & had less vendors with no concerts in my opinion,” David Needlemen wrote in the SLO County News and Public Safety Facebook group. “A lot of local people depend on the fair for their income & the city does for sales tax revenue for sure.”
“A corporate decision was made and a local economy is denied a chance to boost what losses were sustained by the shutdown during this ‘pandemic,’ ” Jasmine Gongora commented on the fair’s post. “So many measures could have been taken to allow this fair to happen, but God forbid anyone take a realistic point of view for once.”
Other commenters spoke in support of canceling the fair, saying that fair officials should have made the decision long ago.
“Should have canceled it sooner! Too many FFA & 4H families struggling as it is. If they had know sooner they might have withheld the purchase of livestock,” Michelle Leicester-Cadaret wrote in the SLO County News and Public Safety group.
“Considering that the majority of SLO County cases are in Paso, this is a good thing,” Jackie Corsiglia commented in the group.
How to get fair ticket refunds
The fair will be issuing full refunds to people who have already bought tickets for admission or to any of the events and concerts.
If you purchased tickets through the fair’s website or call center, refunds will be made automatically to the original form of payment in as soon as 20 days.
If you purchased at the box office, you’ll have to return the original tickets with a completed ticket refund form, available at https://storage.googleapis.com/midstatefair-com/uploads/Refund-BoxOffice.pdf.
Because the box office is closed, ticket holders should download and complete the form, attach it to the tickets and place both in a sealed envelope. You can drop it off in the fair’s secure box located just north of the main entrance or mail it to CMSF/Box Office, PO Box 8, Paso Robles CA 93447.
Credit card purchases will be refunded to the card. Refund checks will be sent for cash or check purchases.
If you purchased through a third party, you must contact that site or dealer to receive your refund.
What happens to the Junior Livestock Auction?
The fair’s cancellation means hundreds of young livestock exhibitors won’t be able to show and sell their animals as they normally would.
The tradition of 4-H and FFA students transporting pigs, sheep, cattle and other animals to the livestock barns, where they stay for days prepping for the show and auction, won’t occur this year, at least in its familiar form.
The fair said it will hold a virtual sale instead, planned for the end of July or beginning of August.
“We will also facilitate some sort of show, depending on where the State is at moving through the Governor’s re-opening timeline,” the fair said on its website. Whether that is also virtual or can be held in person will depend on where the state is in its reopening process.
Interim CEO Bojorquez said the livestock sale will need to occur at its normal time because the animals up for auction will otherwise grow too big and won’t be able to be processed.
“We’re committed to selling those animals for our exhibitors, having a virtual auction — some type of virtual show, hopefully, depending on the different types of platforms we can find and what we can do,” Bojorquez said.
The fair is urging exhibitors to contact their 4-H and FFA leaders for more information.
How to enter exhibits for a virtual show
The fair’s exhibit halls won’t be filled with photos, home-grown vegetables and arts and crafts this year, but participants still can submit entries for judging in a virtual show.
“The fair may have been canceled but we are excited to offer an alternative way to exhibit this year!” the fair said on its website.
It’s accepting photos of entries in 53 categories. They will be judged, awarded and displayed online.
Entries are $2.50 each and can be submitted at www.cognitoforms.com/CaliforniaMidStateFair1/_2020StillExhibitRegistration. Participants can submit up to five entries total by Tuesday, June 30.
Those who’ve already sent in entries have been contacted directly by email. If you have questions, you can reach out to exhibits@midstatefair.com.
When is the next Paso Robles fair?
As the California Mid-State Fair marks its 75th anniversary in 2020, officials are looking ahead to next year.
“We are deeply saddened that we will not be able to host this year’s fair and the decision was not made lightly,” Interim CEO Bojorquez said in a news release. “But, it is the right decision in order to protect the health and safety of our patrons.”
“Although we will miss seeing all the smiles, eating all the food and experiencing all the fun this year, we will be back to celebrate ‘The Biggest Little Fair ... Anywhere’ in 2021,” Bojorquez said.
The next California Mid-State Fair is set to run July 21 through Aug. 1, 2021.
This story was originally published May 28, 2020 at 9:47 AM.
