Big Butler Fair a go for 2021
Hot sausage, horses, fireworks and Ferris wheel rides are back on for 2021, as the directors of the Big Butler Fair have voted to hold the nine-day event this summer.
The fair was canceled in 2020 to stem the spread of COVID-19 as the coronavirus pandemic blanketed the county.
“We are excited to open back up, and we're going to have the 165th Big Butler Fair,” said Harold Dunn, a fair board member since 1986.
As usual, the fair will be held around the Fourth of July, from Friday, July 2, to Saturday, July 10, at the Big Butler Fairgrounds on Route 422 in Franklin Township.
Dunn said the fair was canceled just one other time, in the 1860s because of the Civil War.
Gavon Slater, fair board vice president, said the various committees among the board will meet in the next few weeks to hammer out exactly how the event will play out while adhering to large-event protocols recently released by Gov. Tom Wolf.
He said signage will be placed throughout the fairground's 100 acres, encouraging attendees to social distance.
“With all the acreage we have out there, there's so much room that I'm hoping people will use their own mind and help us out,” Slater said.
He said the security committee will discuss having roving personnel who will remind people to social distance if they get too close to one another.
Regarding masks, those attending the fair also will see signs asking them to wear a face-covering.“It's just like being out in the world,” Slater said. “Some people wear masks and some don't.”The number of people coming into the fairgrounds will likely not be restricted because of the size of the large outdoor venue, Slater said.Regarding concessions, Slater said letters have been sent to all of the regular vendors informing them that the fair will go on and inviting them to reserve a spot.“As of right now, we're hoping to have the same people,” he said. “We'll know in two or three weeks (when vendor contracts are due back).”Animals will likely return to the fair with their young owners, Slater said, but that committee will decide how the youth showing cows, pigs, rabbits and other livestock will carry out their activities.“Most of those people would probably mask up,” he said.Entertainment also is being planned, but Slater said final decisions on how crowds will be managed at the racetrack and in the bleachers will be made by that committee.He said the committee is considering using a ticket system to ensure folks are not crowded into the bleachers.“We hope they mask up and social distance,” Slater said.As of now, the biggest news is that the fair will go on, but Slater said he looks forward to the committees bringing their recommendations to the next board meeting in an unusual year.“We're going to have our hands full,” Slater said.
