ROCHESTER — After 21 years, the Rochester Country Fair has closed its gates for good.

The Rochester Country Fair Facebook page announced on Tuesday, Feb. 14 that due to “horrific weather, EEE and Covid,” the fair has suffered from poor staffing and does not have enough money to stay operational.

Representatives from the Rochester Country Fair were not immediately available for comment. 

The fair was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid. The 2019 fair had a shortened schedule because of an outbreak of Eastern equine encephalitis, also known as EEE. In 2022, the fair returned but was met with rainy weather that impacted attendance and what events could be offered. 

“This decision wasn’t taken lightly and to be honest, we are heartbroken!” Read a post on the fair’s Facebook page. 

For over two decades, the Rochester Country Fair has given fairgoers from the Tri-Town and beyond a great way to spend a fall day with farm animals, an annual tractor pull and more. 

However, the fair’s organizers aren’t finished giving back to the Tri-Town community. According to the post, the money that the fair has left will be put into two scholarship funds for students graduating from Old Rochester Regional High School, Old Colony Regional Vocational High School and Bristol County Agricultural High School.

Scholarship forms will be available in school guidance offices “within the next couple of weeks,” read the post. 

“Words can not express the gratitude for all those who volunteered for all those years,” read the post. “It definitely took a village!”