FAIRLEA, W.Va. — The remnants of Tropical Storm Fred and the threat of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis did not stop crowds from attending the 2021 State Fair of West Virginia.
The fair returned for a 10-day run in Greenbrier County last week after taking off last year due to the pandemic.
“It was exciting to be back and we’re glad that we were able to open the gates,” State Fair CEO Kelly Collins told MetroNews Monday.
About 160,000 people made it to the fairgrounds this year, according to early numbers. Collins said that number is “average” compared to previous years.
“In 2018, there were 165,000, so we’re average. We’re exactly where we thought we would be,” she said.
Weekday numbers were lower than expected due to heavy rain that moved through Fairlea toward the end of the week.
“When it rained as much as it did, we thought that that would happen,” Collins said.
Earlier in the week, the fair reported four positive cases of COVID-19, two among staff and two among fair goers. In addition to providing free vaccines on site, the Greenbrier County Health Department assisted in efforts to isolate those positive individuals, provide testing and conduct contact tracing.
Collins said they went through a lot of hurdles just to open this year’s fair.
“I think our biggest accomplishment outside of how many people came through the gate or how much money we made, it was getting the gates open,” she said.
People were also relieved to attend a state tradition with their families after a stressful year, Collins said.
“They were extremely thankful that we were able to do this for them and provide some sense of normalcy,” she said.