Canfield Fair live events in doubt as Ohio’s goal for new COVID-19 cases slips further out of reach

CANFIELD — Though live entertainment has already been booked for the 2021 Canfield Fair grandstands, those shows won't go on if organizers can't fill its seats by September.

The state this week replaced a 30-percent outdoor capacity requirement with a new requirement keeping "pods" to no more than 10 household or family members — and they must be socially distanced.

Gov. Mike DeWine, during a Thursday briefing, said the state's MLB operators told him the new rule change makes little functional difference. But it seems more limiting to smaller venues, said Eric Ryan, president of JAC Management, which schedules Canfield Fair live shows.

"What's the difference? … It still really hamstrings you from the ability to do bigger shows," he told Mahoning Matters Friday. "It's virtually impossible to do large-scale entertainment with social distancing restrictions in place. … Economically, it's not feasible."

Agreements with the live acts for this year's 175th fair — which haven't been officially announced — are contingent on pandemic health orders being lifted by the fair's opening Sept. 1, Ryan said.

But that goal has been slipping further away each week, DeWine has noted.

Though the governor promised to lift all health orders once the state reached 50 new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks, that metric is moving in "the wrong direction," the governor said Thursday.

The state has reported about 184 new cases per 100,000 people over the last two weeks. Over the last several weeks, that metric has increased from 167 new cases last week; 147 new cases the week prior; and 144 new cases the week before that.

Fair operators continue holding their breath, said spokesperson George Roman.

"As of right now, we're still moving forward, still cautiously optimistic," he said. "It doesn't look like we'll have entertainment in the grandstands at this point in time."

Fair-goers this year should otherwise expect the "full fair" from Sept. 1-6, Roman added.

Roman said Thursday's "shock" announcement that the Ohio State Fair would be closed to the public this year was "disappointing," considering the Canfield Fair draws about as many visitors each year and that fair season has barely begun.

But it didn't factor into operators' decision-making, he said.

This story was originally published April 10, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Canfield Fair live events in doubt as Ohio’s goal for new COVID-19 cases slips further out of reach."