Two West Central Illinois counties won’t be having fairs this year. Greene County’s fair board announced last Saturday in a press release that they would not be having the 167th Agricultural Fair due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Brown County Fair Board made a similar announcement Saturday morning.
In the Greene County Fair Board’s press release last week, the fair board said that they would be having fireworks at some point this year but the Ag Fair’s schedule from June 20th-June 27th would not occur. Miss Greene County Fair 2019 Anja Goetten, Junior Miss Greene County Fair 2019 Elaina Lansaw, and Little Miss Greene County Fair 2019 Jade Range will continue their reigns through 2021.
The Brown County Fair Board said they had a similar decision to make after 3 months of meetings with community leaders, insurance agents, fair officials and public health officials. Reigning Fair Queen – Ashlyn Reid, Little Miss- Alana Roberts and Little Mister- Deacon Scranton will continue to serve until the 2021 fair. The Brown County Fair has operated continuously since 1874 and along with Greene County is one of the oldest ran county fairs in the state. The Brown County Fair Board has also left the option for the community to call with further input at 217-430-8705.
The Morgan County Fair has yet to make an announcement on its upcoming fate. The fair is scheduled for July 5th-12th.
The cancellation comes on the heels of Governor J.B. Pritzker signing an executive order this past week ending the chance of both Illinois State Fairs happening next month.