WARSAW – There will be no open class exhibits at the Kosciusko County Community Fair this year.

The decision was announced Tuesday morning.

“After much consideration, the Kosciusko County Extension Homemakers Board has decided not to move forward with plans for Open Class Exhibits” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the announcement said.

The group cited several factors:

• A survey sent out to Extension Homemaker membership which revealed many members were not comfortable volunteering during the pandemic. We rely on nearly 100 volunteers to host this event every year.

• The survey also revealed many members were not comfortable bringing items to exhibit during the pandemic.

• Most of our members and volunteers are age 65+ and considered high risk.  We did not feel comfortable putting their health at greater risk during a pandemic.   

Exhibits commonly featured each year include crafts, sewing, photography, baked foods, canning, flowers, agriculture, herbs, and needlework. 

The Kosciusko County Extension Homemakers look forward to the 2021 Kosciusko County Community Fair and hope they can host the Open Class Exhibits as normal next year.  Any individual that had entries to exhibit this year is welcome to bring them to next year’s fair, the statement said.

Questions or concerns can be addressed to the Purdue Extension Office by phone (574) 372-2340 or by emailing Jackie Franks at [email protected].

While the community fair is still planned for July 12-18, livestock will be shown a week earlier, according to information made public last week.