Orillia Fall Fair officials are riding it out before deciding the fate of this year’s event.
Chad Cooke, president of the Orillia and District Agricultural Society, said the board is taking a wait-and-see approach.
“We’re trying to hold on as long as we can because we really want to see it go ahead,” he said, “but we want to keep everybody safe.”
Some fall fairs in the province have already made the decision to cancel, he noted, adding the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) has also scrapped its long-running event in Toronto for this year.
“It’s a big deal when the CNE gets called off,” Cooke said.
Whether the Orillia Fall Fair will go ahead Sept. 11-13 will depend on changes to provincial rules and restrictions on gatherings, and the board isn’t ready to make that call yet.
“It is such a fluid situation. It’s changing daily, sometimes hourly,” Cooke said.
A decision about the local fair is expected to be made by the end of the month.
