The Lafayette County Fair was an oddity this summer. What was odd about it? The fact that is actually happened. The fair, which takes place in Darlington, was one of the handful of county fairs that physically took place as most fairs canceled due to the pandemic.
Now, even though the fair took place, things looked very different. There wasn’t a carnival, only a few food vendors, and the grandstand events that took place were insured by an outside party for liability reasons. Anyone that entered the fairgrounds had to sign a waiver and each species of animal were brought in and brought out on the same day, unless they were being sold at the auction. This year, the fair was simply put on for the youth exhibitors that had worked tirelessly to prepare their projects for the fair.
Emma Rielly, a Lafayette County youth exhibitor, says that things felt very different at the fair this year but she’s just glad it actually happened. Rielly brought her 285 pound hog to the fair and it placed second in its class, “which is pretty good considering we have a very good pig show here.” Even when the status of the fair was anyone’s guess, Rielly continued to work with her project around the clock. “We still did the same amount of work we’d do any other year because we’d rather be prepared,” she says.
Emma’s mom, Carmen, says that the fairgrounds were very quiet without spectators and a midway, but she thinks the event went as good as it possibly could have. “It’s different and quiet, but at the same time all of the positive aspects of the fair” still took place, Carmen says. For her, she’s just glad her daughter had the opportunity to see her hard work come to fruition.
Social distancing was encouraged at the fair and all precautions imaginable were taken to ensure everyone’s safety in Darlington. The large animal auction, for example, took place in the grandstand so social distancing was possible. This summer will certainly be one that won’t be forgotten and for youth exhibitors in Lafayette County, they are just glad they could take their animals to the fair.
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