Will the Mid-State Fair happen this year? Here’s what a COVID-safe event could look like
After a disappointing 2020, California Mid-State Fair organizers are figuring out how to hold a safe 2021 event during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — which could involve significantly decreasing the daily capacity and modifying or dropping some attractions entirely.
Organizers have tentatively scheduled the Mid-State Fair for July 21 through Aug. 1 at the Paso Robles Event Center, fair spokesman Tom Keffury told The Tribune in an email. But holding the event while the coronavirus is still around means visitors would not have a typical fair experience, and testing and vaccination clinics currently located at the Event Center would need to move.
And before any of that happens, San Luis Obispo County’s COVID-19 case rate would need to decline significantly, Keffury said.
The fair could occur only if the county reaches the yellow tier of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which restricts counties’ activities based on their COVID-19 case rates, Keffury said.
“Of course we would still need SLO County approval as well,” he said. “And of course, guest safety is our No. 1 concern. We would need to make a number of modifications, but we are confident that we could do so.”
What would it take for SLO County to reach the yellow tier?
San Luis Obispo County has been in the most-restrictive purple tier, which is three levels above the yellow tier, since Nov. 16.
Under this tier, COVID-19 is considered “widespread,” meaning more than 8% of tests are returning positive results, 8% of tests are positive in vulnerable areas and there are more than seven new daily cases per 100,000 residents.
In contrast, counties in the yellow tier have “minimal” coronavirus spread, with an average of less than one new COVID-19 case per 100,000 residents, a positivity rate of less than 2% and a health equity positivity rate of less than 2.2%.
Dr. Penny Borenstein, county Public Health officer, on Wednesday indicated the county is on the right track to move into the slightly less-restrictive red tier if current conditions continue to improve.
Keffury said organizers don’t want to speculate if it’s possible for the county to reach the yellow tier by late July, but “it’s prudent on our part to prepare as if we will.”
“As far as our county getting to that tier, the question really is: ‘Could we get to yellow with enough time for staff to produce the fair, while at the same time receiving approval from SLO County and the state?’” he said.
What would the Mid-State Fair look like during a pandemic?
If the county reaches the yellow tier by fair time, organizers would still need to alter the event significantly to keep visitors safe and prevent COVID-19 transmission.
More than 420,000 visitors have attended the last few fairs, according to fair reports. On top concert nights, tens of thousands of fairgoers pack the Event Center to purchase food and alcohol, line up for rides and sing along with their favorite artists — activities that are almost unimaginable during a pandemic.
Under yellow tier guidelines, the fair would be allowed to open at a maximum 25% capacity, so that would be a substantial drop from normal attendance numbers.
“I would say most attractions would require some sort of modification, whether it be major or minor,” Keffury said. “And perhaps some attractions would not be able to happen at all.”
Keffury said organizers will be looking at strategies other venues around the country have employed to open safely, citing theme parks, outdoor shopping malls, food courts, college football games and museums as examples.
Even if the fair can’t go on in 2021, organizers will still hold a virtual Junior Livestock Show and Sale and a virtual exhibit program, as it did in 2020, he said.
What about the coronavirus testing and vaccine clinics?
The Paso Robles Event Center is currently hosting county coronavirus testing and vaccine clinics, as well as a local company that’s manufacturing personal protective equipment, Keffury said.
The Event Center has contracts with the county for COVID-19 testing through April 30 and vaccine distribution through June 30, Keffury said.
Daniels Wood Land — which has been making plastic protective gowns since the beginning of the pandemic — also has a contract with the Event Center through June 30.
The clinics and manufacturing activities would need to move to make room for the fair.
“Right now, the Event Center is ‘available’ during the month of July to potentially produce the 2021 fair,” Keffury said. “If any of those three renters wished to continue after their contracted time, we would look at that scenario on a case-by-case basis.”
How is the Event Center doing financially?
The Mid-State Fair accounts for 90% of the Event Center’s revenue, and it took a major hit after canceling the event in 2020. Interim CEO Colleen Bojorquez in May warned the facility could close without state assistance.
“We face closure,” she said. “It comes down to the fact that we would have to lay off our state employees, lay off the people that we have, close the doors and walk away. We aren’t allowing that to be an option. We are going to fight. We are going to go down fighting.”
Now, nearly nine months later, the Event Center is “hanging on,” Keffury said.
“We have been good stewards of our finances, putting some money away each year in a ‘rainy day’ fund,” he said. “In addition, we have received tremendous financial support from a few key donors and sponsors, and we have cut back our operating costs to the bare minimum.”
The Event Center operates with a lean staff, which has prevented large-scale layoffs, like those that occurred at the Big Fresno Fair and the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego, Keffury said.
Event Center staff is supporting the federal Agricultural Fairs Rescue Act, which could help agricultural fairs across the country hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
But, in the short term, the facility needs to hold the fair to make the money it needs to stay afloat, as “rainy-day funds and generous donations only go so far — they will not last forever,” Keffury said.
“We feel there is a strong desire from our community for us to put on the 2021 fair,” he said. “If we are allowed by our county and state, we will do so, following all safety precautions and modifications.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
