The pandemic has changed the way outdoor events are being held this year. The streak has also affected this year's Cambridge Fall Fair.
"It's going to be challenging for everybody," said Dave Hibbs, operations manager with the Cambridge Fall Fair, which is run by the South Waterloo Agricultural Society. "The city, along with the province and health department, has set up protocols and regulations which we will comply with. There will be some change."
The fall fair is planned for the weekend of Sept. 9 to 12 at the Dickson Park Arena.
"We don't expect the fair to be nearly as big as it normally is," said Hibbs, adding an average weekend turnout is about 10,000 people.
"There might be a few food vendors and retail vendors. We're still waiting on permission about whether we can have a concert or the demolition derby. These are the two main shows we have."
Also returning to the fair will be midway rides, which will be organized outside the park, along with the food vendors, while the retail vendors will be indoors, he said.
The other returning feature of the fair is the baby show, Hibbs said.
"We're hoping to have smaller entertainment, maybe karaoke or duos or trios," he said, adding, "We're going to focus this year mainly on home-grown entertainment."
The Saturday 4-H, Hibbs said, is still tentative.
"We've sent word to our 4H people to see if we can bring something together," he said.
Also as usual, Hibbs said, will be free admission on Thursday and Sunday but a minor admission fee will be charged for Friday and Saturday.
"The price," he said, "will be determined based on the entertainment we have."
Money raised from the entrance fee usually goes toward taking care of the event expenses, staff, entertainment, and rentals, Hibbs explained.
"It's not the norm, that's for sure," he said. "We're confident we'll be able to put together a good event. And we should be able to get something up and going that's in compliance with all the regulations. It would be good for people to get back out there and get to the norm again."
Hibbs said the Cambridge Fall Fair website will have more updates in the weeks to come. That is also where vendors and baby show participants can find a link to register.
