While Other Fairs Cancel, Central Washington State Fair Is Hanging in There

The Benton Franklin County Fair and Rodeo was the most recent fair closure announced for 2020 because of the COVID-19 closures that find events struggling to open due to the fact that most counties in Washington are still in Phase One and Phase Two.

Walla Walla Frontier Days was another casualty of the closures and I was excited for that one as the rock band Chicago was set to perform on the mainstage.

Some local fairs have gone so far as to hold "virtual" fairs like the Umatilla Fair where the 4-H kids can still exhibit and sell their animals.

One fair in the region isn't giving up and that's the Central Washington State Fair.

Yakima's CWSF easily packs in over 300,000 fair-goers every year over their ten days in September with some of the big acts that you can only see at the fair like Styx, Trace Adkins, and many others that have performed in Yakima in the past.

The Central Washington State Fair posted this message on their Facebook page:

Hello, Fair family and community:
We've seen the recent Fair cancellations announced in Washington State and throughout the US, and are sure those announcements have led many to wonder about the status of the 2020 Central Washington State Fair. To avoid any speculation, we'd like to provide an update.

Mindful of current COVID-19 restrictions, we are continuing to work with local health officials to explore options and will be making a decision about the status of the Fair within the next few weeks.

It's still up in the air where the Central Washington Fair will stand in a few weeks but at this writing, they're hoping that they'll be able to have some semblance of an event that could help get the county get back up and running. You can get more details on all things CWSF here.