To protect Ohioans and the long-term financial viability of the #ohiostatefair, this year’s event will be limited to livestock and educational competitions for exhibitors, their families, and guests. Concerts, entertainment, and your favorite traditions will resume in 2022.
For the last several months, we have been weighing options for how to safely open the gates to the 2021 Ohio State Fair. There is nothing more rewarding than cutting the ribbon and greeting thousands of fairgoers, exhibitors, vendors, sponsors, and entertainers. Together, we’ve enjoyed taking selfies by the butter cow, talking to Smokey Bear, eating deep-fried food on a stick, walking down the brightly lit Midway, visiting the livestock barns, and listening to the sounds of the All-Ohio State Fair Band & Youth Choir.
We’re optimistic about where our state will be as more and more Ohioans are vaccinated. And, we’ve been closely following the latest public health guidance, and believe that Ohioans will continue to wear masks, practice social distancing, and wash hands to get us below 50 cases per 100,000 Ohioans for a two-week period, bringing the COVID-19 public health orders to an end. While we are hopeful that we will soon be on the other side of this pandemic, the reality is that cases of COVID-19 remain high, and we just don’t know how things will look in July.
That is why we have decided to significantly limit the scope of the 2021 Ohio State Fair, focusing on livestock competitions and concluding with a modified Sale of Champions to celebrate the hard work of our young exhibitors. The Fair will not be open to the public, and will be limited to exhibitors, their families, and guests, stretching the Fair over a longer period of time with an anticipated start date of July 19. This decision will not only help to protect the health and safety of Ohioans, it will also protect the long-term financial viability of the fair.
Many of the typical things associated with the Ohio State Fair – rides, concerts, entertainers, live music, food vendors, and shopping – are expected to return in 2022.
The 2021 Ohio State Fair will be open to exhibitors and family members for youth and senior livestock competitions, along with educational project judging for non-livestock competitions, such as 4-H. Detailed plans are forthcoming.
We are thankful for the support of our exhibitors, volunteers, vendors, partners, performers, concessionaires, youth leaders and sponsors, and look forward to being together again. The 2022 Ohio State Fair is slated for July 27 – August 7.
