GREENBRIER COUNTY, W.Va. — There will be no State Fair of West Virginia in Greenbrier County this year because of the coronavirus pandemic but, beginning Thursday, people will be able to still get a taste of it.
Every weekend from now through the end of the summer, some popular State Fair food and beverage vendors will be set up at the fairgrounds in Fairlea selling fair favorites to local residents for “A Taste of the State Fair.”
“We had to be creative to think, ‘What can we do to get some revenue at this point?’ Our food vendors who are a huge reason we have success at the Fair are in the same boat as us,” said Kelly Collins, CEO for the State Fair of West Virginia.
The cancellation of the 2020 State Fair, which had been scheduled to open on Aug. 13, was announced in June.
Soon after that, Collins said an email went out to food and beverage vendors.
“We wanted to give them the opportunity to set up (in Fairlea). We had some vendors set up in the spring and they’ve done very well and, when we do our surveys every year, food is always the No. 1 driver for people,” she said.
Hours are from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays through Sundays.
Vendors scheduled for the next two weekends included Dippin’ Dots, Miller’s Ribbon Fries and Corn Dogs, Demitri’s Greek Food, Josephine’s Glazed Doughnuts and Miller’s Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade.
Future vendors included Ben Allen Donuts, Gussie’s, Miller’s Ice Cream, Gillette’s Pizza, GH Steak Sandwiches, Trudy’s Ice Cream and Zul’s Frozen Lemonade.
Monday announcements were planned for each week’s vendors on Facebook and Instagram.
Spaced-out food stands, marked customer lines allowing distance, frequent sanitization of surface areas and personal protective equipment for food service staff were some of the safety steps being taken to limit coronavirus spread at the “A Taste of the Fair” site.
Next year’s State Fair, the 96th, was scheduled for August 12-21, 2021.
“We said, ‘People aren’t going to be happy without fair food for a year, so let’s give everybody an opportunity,'” Collins said.