To the editor:

The Jay County Fair Association and its board of directors would like to thank everyone for another great fair.

The 2020 fair will forever be remembered as the one when COVID-19 hit the world. Leading up to the fair, the board spent countless hours and meetings reviewing the guidelines and discussing how and if we wanted to continue with the event. Once the board made the decision to have a scaled-back version of the fair, the board went into full gear to adjust the original fair schedule to the one we ended up having. This ultimately led to further meetings with local vendors, health officials and local government authorities. The most important thing was to keep the community safe.

The board felt that it was our duty to provide a getaway for the community since so many other events had been canceled because of COVID-19. That is why this year we made the fair primarily a free event. We were still able to provide quality entertainment in the Farmer’s Building throughout the day and into the evenings, a handful of carnival rides for the kids to enjoy and other various activities that helped make the fair feel as normal as possible. This would not have been possible without the generosity of the local businesses and individuals who have continually supported the operations at the fairgrounds.

While the world continues to fight coronavirus, the board will continue to work on community events and start planning the 149th Annual Jay County Fair for July 2021. As always, we are appreciative of volunteers and donations that help further the mission of the Jay County Fair Association.

This year’s fair will not go down as our biggest fair or the most financially beneficial, but it will be remembered as one of the most fulfilling.

Aaron Loy

Jay County Fair treasurer