Could the Westport Fair Return This July?

When news broke last year that the Westport Fair was being canceled due to the COVID-19, the SouthCoast was deeply disappointed, as was I.

Sure, it was the Summer of 2020, but that didn't mean much knowing that the annual fair wasn't going to be happening. There were no farm animals, no tractor pulls, no homemade cacoila sandwiches, no chicken dinners, no rides, no games, absolutely nothing at all and it was a bummer.

For me, I enjoyed the "class reunion" aspect of the fair, bumping into old friends and classmates alike and catching up over conversations and a corndog. It was frustrating, but also very understandable, considering the crowds that are typically drawn to the fair and where Massachusetts was in regards to COVID numbers.

This year, the Westport Fair is scheduled for July 14-18, and to quickly end some confusion, the dates were posted last year as it's always the third weekend of July. This is nothing new, it's always been this way. So just because it was put into place doesn't mean it's officially happening quite yet, which brings me to the main topic of conversation: is the 2021 Westport Fair happening?

I reached out to the board and as of right now, the committee has yet to meet up due to COVID-19 to discuss a plan of action.

"The executive board will be meeting soon to see what we can do and what it (the Westport Fair) will look like," committee member Molly Anderson Pavao told Fun 107, "We are working on possible fundraisers and are open to being flexible with what the governor allows."

In the meantime, if there's a red flag on the field and the fair is a solid no-go, then perhaps we can still enjoy a small piece of it by televising a crowdless tractor pull on the Westport Public Access television station. The only people who would be allowed would be the tractor drivers and their crew as well as the fair officials and judges who would all be masked anyway. Besides, it's outside and there is plenty of room for the competitors to spread out and keep their distance.

Again, it's not the same, but it's something, and right now that's more than enough for me.