Press Release

It is with a heavy heart that after many meetings and much discussion the Board of Directors and Staff made the very difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Yolo County Fair.

This decision was not made lightly.The health and safety of our community is our top priority. This is a big disappointment to our Fair Staff, Board of Directors, Vendors, Volunteers, Local Organizations, Concessionaires, Exhibitors, Carnival Staff and the community but it is the right decision.

Planning for Fair takes months to produce this high-quality event. Due to the uncertainty of when restrictions for large public gatherings will be lifted, we are not able to make plans for the caliber of Fair everyone expects.

We wish everyone good health in the coming days.When we can safely open the fairgrounds to the public, we will continue with our tradition to schedule the events you enjoy and love - including the 2021 Yolo County Fair… “Wheel Be Llamazing”.

COVID 19 UPDATE

3-16-2020

All members are advised to closely monitor news releases from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) as well as any communication from health authorities in their community, state and province.

The Association has a dedicated website portal with direct links to resources, pandemic planning templates, and stepped up member communications. Included on that page are links to critical CDC and WHO resources, including the latest guidance on mass gatherings, as well as templates for pandemic planning. Click here to go directly to this page.

All IAFE Events scheduled through May have been cancelled as “in-person” events because of the CDC issuance of guidance on no events >50 people (3/15/20). Individual members registered for those events will be notified of cancellations and process for rescheduling and/or refunds procedures. We are working on virtual delivery options for two events; additional messaging will be directed to those specific groups.

This news is moving so rapidly, but we wanted you to know ASAP that regardless what thresholds your local health authorities are considering for mass gatherings, the CDC just release tonight new guidance for no more than 50 people. For the next 8 weeks. Here is a link to the guidance document at the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/mass-gatherings-ready-for-covid-19.html

These actions, necessary to protect the lives of your family, friends and neighbors will have devastating economic ramifications for you. My heart aches for all.

We'll have updated information on the IAFE website as it becomes available and this will certainly impact our own upcoming meetings now through May. Individual registrants will receive information tomorrow or Tuesday.

Earlier today I sent the primary contact at your fair an email asking for a very quick response to a survey to ascertain the financial damages your fair will incur March - May because of these actions. Please make sure that your primary contact received that and submits the on-line data by 5 pm CDT Monday. You have a lot on your plate, but we need this data in order to have information to approach Congress as it considers any aid packages.

/tand strong. Be calm for those around you, especially the young people. Their lives are upended in a way unlike anything in recent history. Do what you need to do to protect the lives of your family, neighbors and friends. Let's support our health authorities, the health care professionals and first responders on the front lines. Share good news stories with us about how you are helping in your community -- as I know you will be doing.

Marla J. Calico, CFE

President & CEO

The Yolo County Fair is a State Entity. Since 1936 we have been the State of California 40^th District Agricultural Association – Doing Business as the Yolo County Fair. Our mission and vision has always been to maintain a free gate fair with a safe family atmosphere; respect the diversity of the residents of our community; provide a place to showcase the history of agriculture and agricultural education and promote a rewarding experience for all who visit or hold events here.

We have successfully done this in the past and will continue to do so in the future with your continued support. For example, when the Governor has issued a State of Emergency due to Fire and Floods, our great community made posters, donated funds and gave so much to those affected.

Recently Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-23-20, which sparked a growing frenzy on the local social media front. As with any Executive Order or State of Emergency Declaration we as a State Facility are required to comply with an Order or Emergency Declaration. That said this new Order says surveys are being conducted and a list will be made of “unused” or “barely used” State Facilities. Our facility is neither “unused” or “barely used”.

We have multiple agreements with the local Sheriffs Department and Highway Patrol to be open and provide a spot for their training and some hiring tests. We have an agreement with Cal-Fire to open our grounds as a staging point for them in the event we have a fire in our area and have recently signed an agreement with Cal-OES and Yolo County to provide a refuge in a County Emergency. We also have agreements with PGE and other companies to help during times of emergency.

In addition to the agencies listed above we also have a long time Commitment to Yolo County 4-H and Yolo County Farm Bureau to house their annual Farm Connection Day, 4-H Spring Show and Yolo County Spring Show’s Livestock Auction. We also host numerous large events as well throughout the year. The most important events are the numerous private and community organization events held during the week and each weekend. These above agreements and events will support our survey response that our facility is not “unused”, but rather in constant use.

From the completed surveys a list of “unused” or “barely used” facilities will be created and distributed to local governments. We will only need to provide these services, or the use of facilities required by Executive Order N-23-20 if we make this list.

We ask for your continued support in the months ahead. You can help by attending the events at our facility. We plan to continue to manage and promote a multi-use, public assembly facility with a continued emphasis on agriculture, education, entertainment and recreation in a fiscally sound and safe manner for the benefit of our community and customers.

If you have any further questions or want more information on Executive Order N-23-20 please call our office at 530.402.2222 or email us at info@yolocountyfair.net

Thanks for your continued support of the Yolo County Fair.

Yolo County Fair Steps Up Awareness

The Yolo County Fair is reexamining our security policies and safety measures for our guests on the grounds, reflecting our awareness of recent incidents, especially and most recently the Gilroy Garlic Festival. You will see several changes this year, and we hope that they will enhance your time with us.

The first change you will see is our partnership with another California state agency. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) will now lead our security/safety program, with help from other local law enforcement agencies. We believe that this partnership will foster a safe environment here so that everyone will continue to enjoy the longest running free gate fair in California.

We are looking at all areas of the fairgrounds that might be problematic or would possibly be considered such. One way of deterring issues is to wand our guests at entrance gates and check for knives and firearms.Please click here for a complete list of the Prohibited Items for this year’s Fair. We will be screening at both the Gum Avenue and the Gibson Road entrances. These will be the only Fair entrances. The previous entrance on East Street will be for Emergency Vehicle use only.

These new steps may take a little more time to come in and start having fun and corn dogs, but we are doing all we can with multiple wanding lines at each entrance. Although you won’t be able to enter anywhere on the fairgrounds, as in years past, these measures will create a safer experience for all. We hope that all our friends and community members will feel a lot more comfortable from the opening until the closing of the Fair.

Please be patient with us if it takes more time than what you are used to; these extra precautions are necessary to ease tensions that our guests might have about attending larger public events.

The Fair made these plans well before the Gilroy incident, but with that tragedy in mind, we feel it’s even more critical to implement them now. For more information, please feel free to reach out to our office at 530.402.2222 or check our website at www.yolocountyfair.net for updates and schedules for all of the excitement and resources for our County Fair.

Thank you for your continued support of the Yolo County Fair, and we look forward to seeing you all!

Sincerely,

Bart F. Vannucci

CEO