By Valley Ag Voice Staff
In the June 2021 publication of Valley Ag Voice, it was stated that the fairgrounds would likely need to be used as a COVID-19 vaccination clinic during the proposed fair time, and unfortunately the 2021 Kern County Fair would be cancelled. However, in a quick June 4th fair board meeting, held via Zoom, they made a vote to plan otherwise.
Mike Olcott, CEO of the Kern County Fair, stated that only “recently have we learned that the governor reportedly plans to completely end the stay-at-home order and the current tiers systems, eliminating states restrictions on business activities including large gathering events like the fair on or around June 15.” He then recommended to the board to follow through with a 2021 fair. Ned Dunphy, Vice Chairman of the Kern County Fair moved to approve the suggestion, and a vote by the board passed 100% in favor of having a 2021 Fair.
Shortly after the exciting news was announced, Chelsey Roberts, Head of Marketing for the Kern County Fair, announced this year’s theme and dates. The theme is “The Fun Starts Here.” and a jingle to match was played for the attendees of the meeting. The fair will be held on September 22 – October 3, with two days in the middle, September 28th and 29th, taken to close the fair for “health and safety cleaning protocols.” Olcott later states that “We will continue to monitor the guidelines as they are released from the Governor, the California Department of Health, the CDC, and the County of Kern.” No announcement for any performances, concerts, booths, food vendors or rides have been made at this time.
After the announcement that we will have a 2021 Kern County Fair was made, John Moore spoke on behalf of the Kern County Farm Bureau and many others who missed last year’s fair, stating that “it”s more and more we see our community drifting away from agriculture and I think the fair is a huge component of that, so I just wanted to thank you for your reconsideration and we look forward to another great year.”
