After setting single day and overall attendance records last year, it's unclear yet how COVID-19 will impact the 2020 Great Minnesota Get Together to begin in late August.
Minnesota State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer said in a statement on April 23, "At this point, the outlook for late summer events remains unknown. As of now, there is no specific date by which a decision to hold the fair must be made. That picture will become more clear in the weeks ahead as we continue to be in contact with our partners that are vital to produce an event the size and scope of the Great Minnesota Get-Together."
Outside of the Twin Cities mega fair, 93 different county fairs associated with the Minnesota Federation of County Fairs are grappling with COVID-19 and what steps are next. So far, a handful of county fairs have postponed festivities until 2021 including fairs in Hennepin, Ramsey, and the Norman County Fair in Ada.
Among those fairs planning to hold events, the Steele County Free Fair in Owatonna.
"The nicest event and most fun event, but the safest event is the number one concern that we have right now," said fair manager Scott Kozelka. "If we can't do that without safety and there's still that lingering out there that we can't do it, those are all the things we have to take into consideration."
Between 250,000 to just over 300,000 people attend the Steele County Free Fair each year in Owatonna. This year's fair is scheduled to run August 18-23 and is tucked in between the Wisconsin State Fair, the Minnesota State Fair, and even runs on some of the same days as the Iowa State Fair.
Massive crowds have organizers in Owatonna thinking about social and physical distancing regulations.
"Our total grounds is 77 total acres," Kozelka said. "On some nights, you'll be lucky to get 6 to 12 inches of space in our midway or around the food stands with people as you see at the state fair."
Communication remains key for Kozelka and the Steele County Free Fair as planning continues full steam ahead, despite several county fairs scheduled for June and early July postponing until 2021.
"We're talking to our vendors, sponsors, and volunteers. People don't realize that a lot of volunteers at county fairs in Minnesota and across the United States are made up of a lot of senior citizens, who are awesome help," he said. "At this point, they're the most vulnerable. Our biggest concerns are with the safety of our volunteers and our fairgoers."
Kozelka said they need to be cautious about what impact having their fair could have on their volunteers. Senior citizens, who are at a higher risk of having complications associated with COVID-19, not only make up a large chunk of the Steele County Free Fair volunteers, but also make up a large portion of the volunteer base for a majority of other Minnesota county fairs and county fairs nationwide.
Financially, county fairs are poised to take a hit even if postponements aren't necessary.
"It's pretty tough to go ask a business that's been closed for a few months to donate to the fair to support some of the stuff we're doing," said Scott Stork, the president of the Minnesota Federation of County Fairs.
Stork is also co-chair of the Stevens County Fair in Morris, Minnesota.
"It's the trickledown effect," he said. "4-H kids have their auction and their food stand. A lot of that money goes back into 4-H activities throughout the year. Wrestlers have their french fry booth, we have the pork and beef producers, and several other groups with booths at the county fair that generate money for the community. For just them alone, it effects them in the future because they won't have money to do things down the road."
As for 4-H and FFA animal exhibitors, Stork says they're still hashing exactly how to handle the shows with Minnesota Extension.
"We've been talking a lot about doing virtual shows and things like that," he said. "These kids have purchased animals that they've planned on bringing to the county fair and stuck a lot of money in them with hopes of moving onto the state fair. We're doing what we can to keep them in show mode."
Despite lingering questions for those exhibitors, Stork doesn't think fairs will forgo having 4-H or FFA exhibits in some fashion.
"Some of these fairs may be thinking they're not going to have anything else but 4-H or FFA events," he said. "Things like a trailer show or a virtual show. Some have proposed splitting up shows and allowing just the person showing the animal and immediate family members."
As for now, it appears to be a waiting game as Gov. Tim Walz makes decisions about how to safely allow social gatherings despite COVID-19 concerns.
The Steele County Free Fair has only been postponed a handful of times including in 1943 because of World War II and 1945 when the war ended, which was more a of a celebration year according to Kozelka. The fair ran in 1946 just before the Polio epidemic hit.
In 1874, they held a one-day fair because of a grasshopper invasion in Steele County.