FARMINGTON — People will have to wait until 2021 for the Farmington Fair.

“The trustees and officers of Franklin County Agricultural Society have had many discussions on the issues facing the nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” society Secretary Neal Yeaton announced  Thursday.

On Wednesday,  they decided to cancel the September fair. The announcement came earlier than anticipated. Initially, society members were going to wait until Aug. 1.

Halley Bennett of Manchester, 19, competes in the Barrel Racing event at the Farmington Fair in September 2019. The 2020 fair has been canceled. Sun Journal file photo Buy this Photo

“Our first priority is the health and safety of our community, volunteers and exhibitors who have supported us over the last 179 years,” Yeaton said. “We have had conversations with the state harness racing officials, the Department of Agriculture, vendors and the state fair association. We have looked into holding only racing but after review of the state and (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines it was felt that it would be impossible and unaffordable for the fair to meet the social distancing and (personal protective equipment) conditions that are needed to insure everyone’s safety. Also the state has not issued any pulling licenses.”

Twenty-two of the state-licensed agricultural fairs have been postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19, including Fryeburg Fair, according to the Maine Association of Agricultural Fairs website https://www.mainefairs.org/

Farmington Fair will be held Sept. 19 to 25, 2021, according to Yeaton.

The board would like to “thank everyone who supports the fair and wish to express our appreciation to everyone,” Yeaton wrote in an email. “We will continue with some ground improvements to prepare for our September 2021 fair.”