ROCHESTER —  Concerned about the possibility of a recurrence of eastern equine encephalitis,  Rochester Country Fair organizers have limited the normally four-day fair to Aug 8 and 9, 2020 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days.

The fair also experienced dramatic changes this past August due to the mosquito-carried virus, which is rare to manifest in humans but often fatal when it does. Fair organizers rescheduled or cancelled all of the events for two days and during the evening over a 24 hour period, three days before the fair. 

“With all of the changes, we made the decision to not charge admissions, this year only, which was a huge financial impact on the Fair,” said Kelly Sullivan Morgado. 

Unfortunately, the mosquito-carried disease is likely to reappear in the same area and hit the fair multiple years in a row. 

“As we begin to prepare for the 2020 Fair, we expect another year of the EEE threat,” Morgado said. “We are being proactive by planning ahead now, allowing us to schedule in the many popular events during two days with limited hours. We are in the process of finalizing events, contracts and timing.” But the fair will still have all of its larger events, like the wrestling and woodsmen shows, during the day. 

The fair also made other organizational switches to account for the limited number of vendors, moving its craft vendors to a different location, rearranging the food vendors and musicians and creating a self-play area for the children. These changes are here to stay, and will be incorporated in the 2020 Fair. 

Organizers say that being able to charge admission again helps, but that they are otherwise “hoping for the best” financially. 

In October, the Fair also became a 501c3, non-profit now known as The Rochester Country Fair, Inc.

For many years, all the money the Fair raised was managed by the Town of Rochester through a revolving fund created each year at town meeting. Going forward, the fair will be administering all of its own financials through a new Board of Directors.

Fair organizers appreciate community feedback, comments, ideas and volunteers. Organizers can be reached at https://www.rochesterma.com/