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FAIRLEA, W.Va. – The remnants of Tropical Storm Fred and the threat of the current COVID-19 crisis did not stop crowds from attending the 2021 West Virginia State Fair.
The just returned for a 10-day race in Greenbrier County last week after taking off last year due to the pandemic.
“It was exciting to be back and we are happy to have been able to open the doors,” State Fair CEO Kelly Collins told MetroNews on Monday.
About 160,000 people have attended the fairgrounds this year, according to preliminary figures. Collins said that number was “average” compared to previous years.
“In 2018, they were 165,000, so we are average. We are exactly where we thought we were, ”she said.
Weekdays were lower than expected due to heavy rains moving to Fairlea towards the end of the week.
“When it rained as much as it did, we thought it would happen,” Collins said.
Earlier in the week, the fair reported four positive cases of COVID-19, two among the staff and two among the festival-goers. In addition to providing free vaccines on-site, the Greenbrier County Health Department has helped with efforts to isolate positive people, perform tests and trace contacts.
Collins said they went through a lot of obstacles just to open this year’s fair.
“I think our biggest achievement outside of the number of people who walked through the door or the money we made was opening the doors,” she said.
People were also relieved to witness a state tradition with their families after a stressful year, Collins said.
“They were extremely grateful that we were able to do this for them and give them a sense of normalcy,” she said.
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