Despite the drop in new cases and increased distribution of vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the Los Angeles County Fair for the second consecutive year.
Instead of a 19-day celebration of food, carnival, music and livestock in September, operators of the Fairplex in Pomona announced plans for a smaller event in the fall. The details of this event have not yet been released.
“The LA County Fair is our flagship event, the foundation on which we build our engagement with the community,” said Fairplex interim chief executive, Walter M. Marquez, in a statement. “But we, in good conscience, could not move forward with planning our big fair across the campus this year, without knowing where the pandemic would come in the summer.”
The cancellation is a financial blow to the non-profit organization Fairplex, which operates the annual fair and other events on 500 acres of county-owned land in Pomona. The fair and events like auto shows and concerts generated more than $ 1.2 million in net revenue in 2018, according to Fairplex’s annual report.
The cancellation of last year’s fair marked the first time the event had been canceled since World War II.
Fairplex said it has cut 90% of its public events since March. During the pandemic, the fairground was used as a coronavirus testing site, with a medical quarantine shelter at the Fairplex hotel, and the land is now being used as a mass distribution site for the COVID-19 vaccine.