DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – De Pere’s Common Council voted 5 to 3 Tuesday night against an exemption for the city’s current mass gathering limit of 50.
That means the Brown County Fair fair won’t be able to use the city-owned portion of the fairgrounds, which is about a third of the site.
Steve Corrigan, the president of the Brown County Fair Association, told FOX 11 after the virtual meeting that the fair board will meet in the next few days to decide whether the fair can proceed with reduced space.
Corrigan says the fair typically uses the De Pere portion of the fairgrounds for parking and a gate entrance.
The Brown County Fair Association has been working to try to hold a safe, in-person fair, since March.
“What we’re hearing from everyone that is giving us our information, the exhibitors, the fair families, all or nothing. All or nothing,” said Corrigan.
Corrigan says that means no virtual fair or alternate location if the Brown County Fairgrounds aren’t an option.
“We need the barns and the buildings to house the animals, the livestock, the manure handling. We’re setup there.”
Corrigan believes the proper procedures have been reached and it should be up to each individual whether to attend.
De Pere Mayor James Boyds and the city’s health department believe it is too risky.
“As a city, we strongly urge the county board to reconsider holding the fair all together,” said Boyd, although during De Pere’s meeting it was noted the board has not formally supported holding the fair.
De Pere’s council debated whether or not to grant the exemption for more than an hour. Much of the focus was on whether the exemption was necessary considering much of the gathering would be happening on the county’s portion of the fairgrounds.
“I don’t think this is the right direction to go,” said Casey Nelson, a De Pere alder. “If people get sick they go get care, they potentially affect healthcare workers or family or anything.”
“Families don’t have to come to the fair if they wish not to come,” said Dan Carpenter, a De Pere alder. “I’m in favor.”
If the fair does not move forward, organizers say area nonprofits would stand to lose about $60,000.
Brown County’s fair is open, meaning exhibitors from other counties can participate.
Corrigan says the fair has about 500 exhibitors signed up to participate, with more than 1,000 exhibits. He expects those numbers to triple if the fair can happen.
Corrigan notes numbers will likely be similar to previous years considering some typical vendors likely won’t participate due to COVID-19 concerns.
5 of 16 county fairs in Northeast Wisconsin are holding in-person fairs.
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