WESTLOCK — The 2021 Westlock and District Agricultural Fair has been cancelled for a second-straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robert Jones, president of the Westlock & District Agricultural Society, made the announcement in a signed letter via Facebook.
“This was not a decision that was made lightly,” Jones wrote. “With these steps, as well as our continuing concern of the health and well-being of our community, we are unable to host this year’s event.”
This year’s fair, which would have been the 106th edition, was scheduled for Aug. 20-22.
The ag society cancelled last year’s fair for the same reasons in a May 1, 2020 letter and repeated the sentiment verbatim in this year’s announcement. The August fair had run for 105-consecutive years before last year’s cancellation.
In May 2020, gatherings larger than 15 people were banned, and the province was entering its third month of the COVID-19 pandemic. This month, it has been a year since the first case, and while vaccinations are ramping up, so are cases.
Last week, the provincial government halted plans to continue the slow reopening, citing a rise in hospitalizations and the chief medical officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s worry with the spread of COVID-19 variants.
