Tulsa State Fair Cancelled

The Tulsa State Fair was cancelled during the Aug. 11 meeting of the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority. 
The panel, comprised of County Commissioners Karen Keith, Ron Peters and Stan Sallee along with private citizens Daryl Woodward and Mike Spradling, voted 5-0 to cancel this year’s Tulsa State Fair but kept in place plans for its youth livestock show. 
Spurred by coronavirus concerns, Tulsa County Fairgrounds officials developed a plan to help keep fairgoers safe. While applauding these initiatives, TCPFA members felt enforcement of the proposed rules would have been virtually impossible and the potential danger was simply too great to keep the event on the agenda for this year. 
The vote took away approximately 40 percent of the $25 million in annual revenue to run the fairgrounds. Lost also is the economic benefits received by about a million people who were expected to attend this year’s fair. 
The authority’s vote came approximately six weeks after the Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City was canceled and took its place among a growing list of public events either delayed to shelved because of COVID 19 fears. 
The youth livestock show was allowed to go on, because it can space out participants even more than usual without the fair. 
An “appropriate level of vendors” will also be allowed to set up booths inside the livestock barn.