Concerns about the coronavirus pandemic have led organizers to cancel this year’s Stratham, Lancaster, Sandwich and Cheshire fairs.
The Stratham Fair was scheduled for July 16-19, and the Lancaster Fair was to be held Sept. 3-7.
“Please note/2020 Fair is cancelled” read a message in red on the Stratham Fair’s website. In black letters it said, “Keep safe, everyone. Thank you,” with a link to resources about the coronavirus.
The Lancaster Fair’s board of directors made its cancellation announcement via Facebook on Wednesday.
“Due to the very high level of uncertainty about what the next few months will bring and after careful consideration for the health and safety our community and fairgoers, we have made the difficult decision to cancel our Labor Day Fair,” the Lancaster board wrote.
“At this time of year, the Fair Board would typically be fundraising, hiring entertainment, entering into contracts and making decisions about our fair programs. During this public health pandemic, when our entire community is under such an intense strain, it is not feasible to request or make such commitments.”
The Sandwich Fair Association board said on Facebook that canceling the Columbus Day weekend fair “…was the safest option for the fair community and the public.”
“As the last fair of the New Hampshire fair season, the Sandwich Fair puts an exclamation point on the state’s tradition of agricultural fairs,” the directors wrote, noting that, “ironically, the only other time the Sandwich Fair has been canceled was in 1919 during the Spanish Flu pandemic.”
In a Facebook posting, the Cheshire Fair board said its decision to cancel the July 30-Aug. 2 event was made with “much sadness.”
On Thursday, the website for the 144th Deerfield Fair said the event is still set for Oct. 1-4; the fair’s last Facebook posting was April 15.
The North Haverhill Fair, scheduled for July 22-26, on Thursday said on Facebook that the event was not cancelled but that a decision would be made by June 1.
Officials at the Cornish Fair Association, whose fair is scheduled for Aug. 21-23, wrote on social media Thursday that “We would like to let everyone know that at this time, the 2020 Cornish Fair has NOT been cancelled. Please disregard any posts circulating across social media that say otherwise. We will continue to monitor the current public health crisis closely and update the community should anything change.”
The Hopkinton State Fair blog website, last updated on April 8, said the Sept. 4-7 fair is still a go.
“Our hope is that the time which passes between now and September will provide ample time for the virus to pass and we will be able to operate the 105th Fair. As you can imagine, we have great pride in knowing that our Fair has operated through many adversities and do hope the present day situation will pass and we can continue the tradition.”
