ELEANOR, W.Va. — The longest-running county fair in the state of West Virginia is on hold for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Putnam County Fair Board announced recently in a Facebook post that the preparations for the mid-July event have ended.
Krista Snodgrass, the president of the fair told 580-WCHS that the decision was not made lightly.
“We all wanted to have a fair this year more than anything. We all have a love and passion for the fair, for the youth, agriculture, just for a good community family fun event for people to go to,” she said.
The fair had been scheduled for July 10-18 at the fairgrounds in Eleanor. Snodgrass said that with all the contract situations, uncertainty with the virus, and social distancing guidelines, there was no other choice.
“With not much changing in the past couple of months, in any regulations for fairs and festivals in West Virginia, we almost felt it was impossible to have a fair at the level we have always expected and provide the same type of entertainment that we have been able to do,” she said.
Snodgrass said they will have an online auction in July for the livestock exhibitors, who put in many hours and hundreds of dollars on their exhibits, including the kids involved with 4H.
The virtual auction will be live from July 12-15 online at the Wendt Group auction site.
“Those kids spend hours and hundreds and thousands of dollars in purchasing an animal, raising the animal. Many of those had purchased the animal and raised them way before the pandemic hit,” Snodgrass said.
Organizers have already begun prepping for the 2021 fair, including moving contracts set for this year to next year.