(KAIR)--The Atchison County Fair will return to some sense of normalcy this year, following last year’s scaled down production, which saw limited public accessibility due to COVID-19. “We got by last year, we did what he had to do to have the fair what we could. Now, we’re very excited about getting back to normalcy,” Fair Board President Joe Taliaferro told MSC News regarding the fair that’s planned to be held August 3 through 7, on the fairgrounds, in Effingham, with virus-related precautions in place. “The face masks and the social distancing, that’s probably the two main things that will probably still need to happen, unless it’s completely lifted by then, but we’re going to play it as if that’s what we’ve got to do,” Taliaferro explained.

Although entertainment is planned, one long-running aspect of the annual fair will not return for the year, with a carnival not available in the fair’s time frame. “We’re having entertainment for sure Friday and Saturday night,” Taliaferro said, adding that there will not be a carnival. “The guy we’ve used for the last 3-years, he couldn’t make it. It really wasn’t because of the Covid, it was just his schedule wasn’t working out, and carnivals are becoming harder and harder to find.”

This will mark the 115th annual Atchison County Fair, held each summer in Effingham, which serves to salute the hard work completed by county 4-H members leading up to the event.

The Fair Board is continuing to plan additional details of the fair.