CHEVIOT, Ohio — The Harvest Home Fair is tentatively back on for September, event organizers announced Monday on Facebook.
“We are thrilled to share the Harvest Home parade and the fair will take place this year, kicking off with the parade at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9, and the fair on Friday, Sept, 10, Saturday, Sept. 11 and Sunday, Sept. 12,” reads a post on the event’s official page.
The announcement followed Gov. Mike DeWine’s Feb. 25 statement that Ohioans could begin planning for events such as baseball games, fairs, parades and weddings during the spring and summer — as long as they followed Ohio Department of Health rules on capacity and mask-wearing.
DeWine had not released hard guidelines for each type of event by Thursday, but his Feb. 25 news conference indicated outdoor events should be held at 30% normal capacity with enforced masking. Venues would have to prove they had a plan, he added, in order to receive permission to operate from the government.
The 2020 edition of the Harvest Home Fair, an event that’s existed in some form since before the Civil War, was canceled that April due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Holding the fair puts our volunteers and patrons at risk, many of whom are in a high risk group,” wrote chairman Pete Rebold in a statement at the time.
If the fair moves forward as planned in 2021, he'll have to answer the questions he asked in the same statement: “How do you drink a beer though a mask? How do you accomplish social distancing at an event where everyone is coming to spend time with their friends and family?"
