News coming in this morning from www.myfox8.com and more details on this story coming up at 12 noon, on the FOX 8 News at Noon, with Cindy Farmer and Brad Jones……
RALEIGH, N.C. – This year’s North Carolina State Fair has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler announced Wednesday/this morning.
(Steve Troxler, a Guilford County resident, and former tobacco farmer from out around Browns Summit.)
The State Fair, which was scheduled to run from Oct. 15-25, is one of the most highly-anticipated events in the state every year – but COVID-19 ended up shutting it down. North Carolina has seen more than 116,000 cases and over 1,800 people have died from the virus.
Around 1 million people regularly attend the State Fair.
The Mountain State Fair held just outside Asheville and the Carolina Classic Fair in Winston-Salem had already been canceled due to COVID-19.
The Mountain State Fair was scheduled for Sept. 11-20 and was canceled earlier this month. The Carolina Classic Fair was set to run from Oct. 2-11. It was canceled on Tuesday.
Troxler made the announcement on the State Fair at a news conference.
Troxler had previously told CBS 17 that about 150 events at the State Fairgrounds had already been canceled this year due to the pandemic. The cancellations has resulted in $2 million in lost revenue.
The commissioner said weeks ago that officials have talks “daily” about the status of the State Fair. He said that organizers have to be realistic not only about the health risks involved but also the financial risks.
Troxler said previously that the idea of social distancing at the Fair is “unrealistic.” He confirmed in June that if the fair were to go on, it would not be a scaled-back version.
“We can’t put on a half State Fair. We couldn’t do it financially,” he said.
The last time the North Carolina State Fair was canceled was in 1945.