The Baxter County Fair Board has announced that this year’s fair will have adjustments to address the area’s surging COVID-19 numbers, but will go on as planned.The fair, which will run from Aug. 24-28 at the Baxter County Fairgrounds will return for the first time since 2019 after taking last year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Glenn Priebe, president of the Baxter County Fair Board, says the board met Tuesday night and decided that the fair would go on as previously planned.
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The Twin Lakes Area’s COVID cases and hospitalizations have skyrocketed in recent weeks, fueled by the delta variant and the region’s low vaccination rate. The Arkansas Health Department was tracking 424 active cases Wednesday, and Baxter Regional Medical Center reported Tuesday afternoon that it was treating 43 patients for COVID at the hospital.
The Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday evening that it was canceling the August dates for its Friday Night Music Series at Hickory Park, citing the jump in COVID cases and the demand that surge was placing on Baxter Regional.
Priebe says fair organizers plan to make some changes in response to the area’s rising COVID numbers.
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The late-August date for the fair is about three weeks earlier than the fair’s traditional week of the first full week in September. That change was due to the fair switching midway companies, and the new company having already been booked for that week in September.
Other changes coming to the 2021 fair include combining the event’s beauty pageant and baby show. The combined show will be held Saturday night at Mountain Home High School’s Dunbar Auditorium.
Returning events at the Saddle Club Arena include the truck pull on Saturday, Aug. 21, and the lawn mower races on Saturday, Aug. 28. The fair parade will roll through downtown Mountain Home on the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 25, and the horse show will follow immediately after the parade at the arena.
Tuesday, Aug. 24, will continue to serve as $1 admission night, with just the fair’s carnival and food booths open that night.
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