Sarasota County Fair canceled

As recently as Friday afternoon, the Sarasota County Fair remained committed to opening today despite a rash of event cancellations and warnings from government officials about the potential spread of COVID-19.

Shortly after the scheduled 2 p.m. opening, however, the Sarasota Agricultural Fair Association announced the 10-day event was canceled. In a release, the association attributed the decision to the county withholding staff support from the fair a directive from Gov. Ron DeSantis recommending the cancelation of mass gatherings statewide.

“The Sarasota County Fair is unable to provide a safe environment despite our preparations for the COVID-19 without law enforcement and medical services,” the release stated.

Fair association President and CEO Rory Martin said the decision came after the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office announced deputies would not work the event because of concerns related to the novel coronavirus disease. Martin said the fair had taken precautions such as hiring health screeners and adding educational signage at ticket booths, but the organization ultimately felt it could not adequately ensure the safety of attendees.

Martin said he was particularly concerned with accommodating vendors and children involved with the 4H and FFA sales and activities at the fair.

“I'm deeply saddened,” Martin said. “It's more than just a fair. It's the youth projects that we’re sad about.”

Before the cancellation, Sarasota County officials said they spoke to the private event organizer and recommended not going forward with the fair. At a news conference today, Sarasota County Administrator Jonathan Lewis said county staff would not work at the event because of an official local and statewide advisory against holding mass gatherings.

“I told him what he should do is follow the recommendations of the state and the health department,” Lewis said of his conversation with a fair association representative.

On Thursday, Martin said the organization was monitoring the response to the disease, but he added canceling the event would pose financial and logistical issues. At 10:12 a.m. today, the fairgrounds Facebook page posted a statement indicating the fair would go on and encouraging members of the public to follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Department of Health.

“The fair is in the process of having health screeners monitoring attendees,” the Facebook post said. “Please stay away if you are concerned.”

The Observer is collecting and regularly updating a list of local events that have been canceled or postponed because of coronavirus concerns.

Whitney Elfstrom contributed reporting. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.