Carnival companies and fair vendors have been negatively impacted by the pandemic and shutdown, just as thousands of businesses have. But they haven’t all completely closed up shop. The website of the Wade Shows, provider of the midway rides and games for the New York State Fair, lists a reduced, but existing number of fairs still scheduled.

In fact, the Delaware State Fair opened its 10-day run on July 23 with Wade providing the midway. According to the Delaware State Fair’s website, they’ve made significant changes to procedures. Their entire concert schedule was canceled and safety protocols are in force.

Meanwhile the Tennessee and North Carolina State Fairs were late scratches, while Wade is still booked for the Nebraska State Fair from Aug. 28 to Sep. 7 as well as several other major festivals in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. They’re going forward while maximizing caution, hoping no doubt, that it won’t lead to a spike in covid-19 cases.

Ultimately, those fairs may or may not go on. New York seems at this point to have a better grip on the outbreak than most other states. So if at least some states are successful in holding their event without major consequence, it will validate second guessing of Gov. Cuomo’s decision to cancel rather than   instituting precautions and forging ahead.

Given its timing and proximity to New York, a review of the Delaware Fair will be most instructive in analyzing whether the closing of the New York State Fair was justified. We’ll take a look at a later date.

Shopping malls open Friday with the approval of the State.

The Hound is wondering how shopping with throngs of people indoors meets safety standards, but food-stand dining, browsing the Iroquois Village, twirling on thrill rides and strolling around in the open air at the New York State Fair doesn’t.

Fair Director Troy Waffner told local media outlets that his staff is planning for some events to give devastated Fair fans a taste of the fun they’re missing with the Fair canceled this year.

While many deride the decision to close–rightly so–let’s hope there is some redemption in those promised activities.

New York’s dictatorial governor announced on Monday that he is killing the 2020 New York State Fair.

New Yorkers who have sacrificed tremendously and lost much to the current health crisis are devastated by the unwarranted surrender of our greatest event.

The facts support the substantial progress New York has made, especially upstate where the Fair is staged annually. The opportunity to hold the festival mostly outdoors made it possible to minimize the risk to patrons and workers (See Out of the Box, June 27). But Cuomo lacks the vision and will to fashion the modified-but-fun event so badly needed by deprived and depressed citizens.

Politically, Cuomo values his image as our savior, drawing a stark contrast to the psychopath in the White House when it comes to pandemic response. But we’ll all pay the price emotionally and economically for a canceled Fair.

We can just sit around the house wearing masks forever, but that’s no way to live. While there’s no justifying reckless disregard for the undeniable risks, careful planning can make the Fair relatively safe, just as it has allowed movement toward normal life in so many areas without significant negative affect.

Labor Day will arrive on time and it will be tough to face without having had the State Fair to soften the blow of summer ending. Maybe Chevy Court concerts and elbow-to-elbow crowded buildings were too risky, but a modified Fair was possible, if only the Gov had made the effort.