The 2020 Verde Valley Fair was yet another casualty of people canceling events due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With plans to hold the annual event beginning on April 29 of last year, the Verde Valley Fair Association held out hope that the event could happen, based on early hopes that the initial pandemic shutdowns of March 2020 would be lifted by last April, leading to the event having to be scrapped close to the last minute.
This year, the fair is returning, starting on Wednesday, April 28, and lasting until Sunday, May 2. But coming back comes with difficulties after a tumultuous year and the uncertainty that came from shifting restrictions over the past few months.
“This year it was in limbo literally until Tuesday, March 30,” VVFA Director Coleen Gilboy said. Gilboy said that the planners are now rushing to get everything ready in time. “Normally it’s not one month away. Normally we plan for six months. But after last year when we had to cancel every- thing, we’re a little more gun-shy. That was a lot of work when we had to throw stuff away.”
Gilboy said that the fair planning is somewhat cautious this year, with the expectation that there is likely no way that this year’s fair will be the same as a fair before the pandemic. However, the VVFA is trying to get as much of the usual fun as possible back, including rides, carnival games, decadent fair foods, and the usual crop and live- stock competitions, which last year were relegated to a virtual fair to allow those who had hoped to compete a chance to do so. The VVFA expects that things will be different, but hope to still make it worthwhile for attendees.
“What we didn’t want to do is put a product on the table and have people think, ‘Why did I spend [money] to go to this?’” Gilboy said. “Because then next year you’ll be behind the 8 ball. Nobody will want to come. If we have to put a product on the table, we want it to be a good product. We are putting a very good product on the table in a very short amount of time.”
As with most events in the past year, the fair will feature some changes in the name of safety. According to Gilboy, there will be fewer indoor attractions, with the exception of the large Arts & Crafts display, to be held in a 7,200-square-foot building where social distancing will be possible. Outdoor vendors will be set up in a larger geographic area, allowing people to spread out while shopping, getting food or playing games. Hand sanitizer, a usual fixture of the livestock areas, will be available throughout the fairgrounds, and contact- less ticketing is being implemented for rides.
However, Gilboy says that masks will not be enforced for those visiting the fair, leaving that to attendees.
“We are moving forward with the fair that we want to make sure people are safe and comfortable. Some are not coming to the fair this year and we have to under- stand that,” Gilboy said. “We are going to highly encourage people to socially distance. If they want to wear a mask they are more than welcome to wear a mask. But we are not going to be their parents.”
A year without the fair was difficult for the VVFA, which is an independent nonprofit not funded by the town or the county. For the past year, they have opened up the fairgrounds to RV camping, which allowed the
VVFA to make up for some of the lost revenues but was not what they had hoped to be doing.
Gilboy hopes that the return of the fair will be a chance to go back to having fun after a year of difficulty.
“We’re just really glad to get this opportunity to have our fair,” Gilboy said. “People need to see each other. They need to giggle and laugh. It’s been a while since people were able to cut loose. We want to give them a chance to do that in a safe and controlled environment.”
Pre-sale tickets for the fair are now available in Cottonwood at Suzy Q’s Market, Cowboy Shop, Food City, Olson’s Grains and Safeway.
In Camp Verde they can be purchased at Bashas’ and at Camp Verde Feeds. They can also be bought at Bashas’ in Sedona and Cornville Mercantile.
Pre-sale tickets are $5 for entrance and $22 for rides until sold out, and tickets at the gate are $8 and $35, respectively.
