DALLAS — There won’t be a Luzerne County Fair this year.
The announcement came Monday morning via a statement released by Brenda Pugh, event chairman for the 2020 Luzerne County Fair, released on the fair’s Facebook page.
The reason, as one might expect, is COVID-19.
“While we all crave a return to a sense of normalcy,” Pugh writes in her statement, “we must take into consideration the effects social gatherings will have on our communities.
“COVID-19 has taken a significant toll on all of us,” she goes on to say.
The fair had been scheduled to run from Sept. 9 to 13, but Pugh’s statement said it would not be feasible to run the fair under the safety guidelines imposed by the commonwealth in response to the virus.
“Luzerne County moved into the ‘Green Phase’ as for Friday, June 19,” Pugh writes. “Unfortunately, there is no way for us to logistically operate in accordance to the maximum capacity of 250 people in a gathering.”
Pugh said the decision was not made lightly, and was made after speaking with “industry experts” along with reviewing the advice of the governor’s office, the Department of Health, the State Association of County Fairs and others.
“Our decision came down to what is most important to us,” she wrote. “The health and well-being of our fairgoers, the safety and respect of our community and of course the fiscal responsibility to our Community Service Clubs who own and operate our organization.
Pugh said it was important to make the decision before any “unnecessary funds” were spent on advertising, deposits and other fees if the event ultimately could not safely happen.
While the statement was shared along with a post that said this would be the first time in nearly 60 years without a Luzerne County Fair, it also came along with a promise, one of even better things next year.
“With the help and support from our community, our sponsors and our dedicated volunteers, the Luzerne County Fair will be back better and stronger than ever on Sept. 8 to 12, 2021,” Pugh wrote.