The largest and one of the most popular annual events in the Columbus area has become the latest casualty of the COVID-19 crisis.
Bartholomew County Fair Board members canceled this year’s Bartholomew County 4-H Fair after a nearly two-hour discussion Monday.
“Initially, people are going to be mad, angry and frustrated,” Bartholomew County Purdue Extension Cooperative director Elisabeth Smith said. “All of those emotions are valid for everyone including 4-H members, their parents and volunteers.”
The president of the 21-member Bartholomew County Fair Board, Mark Case, says he’s already heard substantial criticism about the board’s decision.
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“I know we’ve made a lot of people upset,” Case said. “But nobody wanted not to have the fair.”
The decision to cancel this year’s fair, scheduled for July 10 to 18, was made after board members determined it would be impossible to adhere to guidelines and restrictions required by Purdue Extension leaders in West Lafayette, Case said.
Among the requirements from the state were maintaining social distancing guidelines, screening employees and volunteers working at the fair, following industry best practices regarding disinfecting high traffic areas and offering hand sanitizer and cleaning stations to employees and guests, according to a Purdue Extension news release.
“They also wanted both the adult leaders and kids to wear masks all day every day, write down everybody’s name and phone number (include fair patrons) for tracking, and keep the 6-foot rule — even when the kids are showing their animals,” Case said.
Maintaining social distancing during large livestock shows is not realistic unless you show one animal at a time, which would drag out a single event for an entire day, Case said.
Another concern was personal protective equipment. After extensive searching, organizers were unable to find and obtain sufficient amounts of personal protective equipment and hand sanitizer required to have a fair, long-time board member and 4-H leader Becky Speaker said.
But even if the board had voted to move ahead with the nine-day fair, the subsequent event would have been nearly unrecognizable, Case said.
For example, there would not be a midway and some of the most popular vendors had already notified the fair board they weren’t coming, he said.
Putting the kids first
The overriding factor in the decision to cancel the fair was ensuring the safety of the 4-H members, board members said.
During the meeting, board members were informed that Indiana has just reported its first case of “multi-system inflammatory syndrome” — a strange new illness related to the virus that targets children, Speaker said. State health officials have declined to reveal where the first case was diagnosed but said the patient is likely being treated at one of the major children’s hospitals in Indianapolis.
“It’s probably the right thing to do,” Case said of the concerns. “But I hate canceling the fair. It doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.”
Even with the safety concerns, Smith still feels club members still deserve recognition for their achievements.
For that reason, the staff at the Purdue Extension office, in cooperation with the Indiana 4-H program, has begun working out details that will result in a virtual exhibition for all 4-H projects, Smith said.
“I know the students are going to show creativity and determination,’ Smith said. “Our motto in 4-H is to make the best of things.”
Even during a normal fair, 4-H members are reminded that it is the hard work and dedication put into a project that will provide the greatest benefits, Smith said. That will likely be stressed several times in the upcoming weeks, she said.
Economic impact
The cancellation of an event the size of the county fair is going to have a negative impact on Bartholomew County’s economy, said Karen Niverson, Columbus Area Visitors Center executive director.
Whether it’s local dollars being recirculated or new money being brought in from out of town, the fair does have a significant impact on the the tourism and hospitality industry that includes restaurants, lodgings, shops and convenience stores, Niverson said.
However, she sees the fair’s cancellation as “just one more domino” in the hospitality industry falling, due to the pandemic.
“This will likely be the largest single catastrophe in tourism I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Niverson said. “Many tourism segments are being wiped out, and the magnitude is significant.”
The only comparable situation she can recall took place right after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, she said. But Niverson said that when the economy was crumbling after 9/11, there was both a public and private push to persuade Americans to shop and travel again.
“But it’s different this time, because you can’t have the authorities coming out and asking you to travel, due to safety issue,” Niverson said.
Community loss
Canceling the fair will have a negative impact that will be significantly felt through many facets of the community, said Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge #89 president Alan Trisler.
That includes several churches and nonprofits that need fair revenue to financially support worthy programs and create awareness about themselves, he said.
For example, the FOP, which is responsible for parking and getting vehicles in and out of the fairgrounds, splits the parking income evenly with the fair board, Trisler said.
That income allows the FOP to sponsor a number of events, projects and programs throughout the year. Those programs have helped hundreds of children over the years, including those served by the Columbus Behavioral Health Center, the Parkside Early Education Program and other community youth initiatives.
Separate fundraisers are held to raise money to purchase gifts for the FOP’s Shop With A Cop, where officers take disadvantaged kids on a holiday shopping spree every December, Trisler said. But fair parking money does pay for operational expenses associated with both the holiday charity and the FOP Lodge itself, he said.
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The cancellation of the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair is testament to public sentiment about the health risk posed by COVID-19.
The uncertainty about "when" and "how" travel and events will resume is taking a toll on the tourism industry.
Current forecasts predict that:
- Hotel occupancy for the year will reach only 35% to 40%, with room rates dropping more than 20%.
- Room sales hit bottom in early April, with occupancy rates around 20% nationwide.
- Bartholomew County saw its lowest local occupancy rate of 18% the week of April 5th.
- While there has been a gradual increase, Bartholomew County posted a 24.2% occupancy rate the week of May 3rd, so we have a long way to go.
As the event cancellations continue to be announced, we have to brace ourselves for a slow recovery for the tourism industry.
— Karen Niverson, executive director, Columbus Area Visitor’s Center
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To learn more about the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair and 4-H, visit
https://extension.purdue.edu/Bartholomew
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Purdue Extension announced county 4-H fairs could occur after the Purdue University restrictions on face-to-face events end June 30.
Among the requires are that fairs must adhere to social distancing guidelines (6 feet), screen employees and volunteers working on behalf of Purdue Extension daily, and follow industry best practices regarding disinfecting high traffic areas and offering hand sanitizer and cleaning stations to employees and guests.
“We want to make sure we are doing everything possible to protect our 4-H’ers, their families and the community,” said Casey Mull, assistant director of extension and 4-H youth development program leader. “All 4-H youth who want to exhibit this summer will be able to through virtual or face-to-face mechanisms.”
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"I know we’ve made a lot of people upset. But nobody wanted not to have the fair."
— Mark Case, Bartholomew County Fair Board president
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