(7/8) After months of deliberation and discussions on how to safely open amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Great Frederick Fair Board of Directors has cancelled our annual event scheduled for September 18-26.

This decision was not taken lightly and is extremely difficult to share but is in the best interest of public health and safety. The Great Frederick Fair is not only an important tradition in our community, welcoming over 230,000 guests, but also a vital economic event, putting over $1,000,000 back to local businesses each year. The Fair remains committed to putting the safety and well-being of our staff and our community above anything else.

The Fair Board has determined that to follow the CDC and state and local health department recommendations would result in eliminating some of our greatest Fair traditions and make others unrecognizable. Planning for The Great Frederick Fair requires year-round efforts to coordinate all of the moving parts and with the added unknowns, it makes this an extremely challenging moving target.

The Fair has overcome location and date changes, fire, The Great Depression, rain and hurricanes. The Fair was cancelled in 1918 during the Spanish Influenza outbreak on the advice of state health officials. World War II forced the cancellation of The Great Frederick Fair in 1942 and 1943 and during that time, buildings on the fairgrounds property were utilized by the Office of Price Administration for the war effort. In the words of S.C. Lourie, "This is just a chapter, it’s not your whole story."

The Great Frederick Fair is committed to our non-profit mission statement to promote Agriculture and the Education of our Youth about the Industry of Agriculture. So, although the event is cancelled, we are planning to host an Invitational Youth Livestock show. The details for this opportunity will be released in the coming weeks.

The concerts, motorsport and carnival (Jack Pass) events that were already on sale are postponed to 2021. All ticket holders will be contacted within the next 30 days with options on carrying their tickets over, or directions on how to request a refund.

Karen Nicklas, General Manager shared, "The cancellation of an event this large negatively impacts hundreds of thousands of people and organizations. I ask that you please be patient, understanding, and respectful to us and all the events making these challenging decisions in our communities. Be supportive and kind. I can’t wait to see everyone at the "even greater" 2021 Great Frederick Fair!"

We encourage the public to follow the Fair’s website, www.Gffair.com/covid for answers to Frequently Asked Questions, and updates. The Fair appreciates your cooperation, understanding and support of this decision and we are looking forward to being together in 2021!