Official calls fair a success after last year’s COVID cancellation
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Children race inside the Magic Maze at the Putnam County Fair on Saturday. -
Laughter and screams can be heard Saturday as people ride the flying swings at the fair. -
People at the Putnam County Fair ride the Ferris wheel and drop tower Saturday, the last night of the fair. -
Positively Putnam FL
The Putnam County Fair has concluded after nine days of rides, food, livestock and games, returning a sense of normalcy to the county.
Putnam County Fair Authority board President J.R. Newbold III said he felt things went pretty well except for two challenging days of weather March 20 and 21.
Newbold said attendance was down only 2% from the 2019 fair, which, because of the COVID pandemic, was the last time the fair was in Putnam County.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event was a success, he said.
“We are ecstatic as far as that is concerned,” Newbold said. “The days weather-wise were excellent and we couldn’t have asked for much better. It was good fair weather. The number of patrons coming through showed that.”
In a social media post, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office expressed gratitude in seeing residents enjoy the weather and fair last week. The Putnam County Fair meant so much to many different people, the agency said.
“From the showmanship displayed in the ring showing livestock, to smiles on little ones faces as the carnival lights twinkle in their eyes, this year the fair we think means a return to the things we missed in the last year,” the post said.
Newbold said he hoped everyone participated safely and thanked the community for supporting students’ animal projects. He said it was tough to gauge the fair as a template for future county events because of its unique nature.
“Hopefully, we provided enough guidance for people to be safe and sound health-wise. That is always on our minds,” Newbold said. “The tale will be told a few weeks from now. Hopefully, there’s not a spike in COVID.”
Now, it’s time to look forward to the 2022 Putnam County Fair, he said. Every year, the Fair Authority looks at what went well and possible improvements.
“We’ll be sharing all of our thoughts while they’re fresh in our minds on what we can do better next year,” Newbold said.
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