CONCORD, N.C. — County officials announced on Thursday that the 2021 Cabarrus County Fair will be canceled due to low vaccination rates amid rising COVID-19 cases. The event was scheduled for September 10th-18th.
County officials say they came to this decision after consulting with public health and emergency management officials.
“It’s extremely disappointing to know another year will go by without the fair, especially since there was a pathway to normalcy through vaccination,” said Board of Commissioners Chair Steve Morris. “I hope the community understands the risk of holding a fair under these conditions. If we can get our vaccination rates higher, we’ll find our way back to life as we knew it.”
As of Tuesday, August 31st, data shows 50.6 percent of the eligible Cabarrus County population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“We are as disappointed as everyone else with another long-standing tradition being canceled in Cabarrus County,” said CHA Public Health Director Dr. Bonnie Coyle. “With the exponential growth in cases, Delta’s higher infection rate and the strain on our hospital, I agree that this is the right decision. While we have such high transmission of this virus, I urge all Cabarrus County residents to get vaccinated if you are eligible, wear a mask when in public settings and unable to socially distance, and stay home when sick.”
Officials say the Cabarrus County Fair is the largest annual event held at the County’s Arena and Events Center, and each year it welcomes up to 80,000 people from across the region.
The Fair requires more than a year of planning by staff, volunteers, and partners. Officials say it takes up the entirety of the Arena’s 25 acres of grounds and 170,000 square feet of exhibit space.
The Fair includes more than 2,000 livestock entries, 175 exhibit booths, 50 food vendors, 40 rides, 35 games, and couple dozen novelty vendors and entertainers.
County staff say they planned this year’s fair with added safety precautions, including a mask mandate, but ultimately decided the event could lead to severe and unnecessary consequences that could affect the entire region.
“We’re trying to aggressively protect our schools and hospitals—they are essential,” said Commissioner Morris. “We did all we could to make the fair happen safely, but as we watched COVID-19 infection rates rise, we realized no level of precaution would mitigate community spread.”
This is the second cancellation in the fair’s history since it began in 1953.
