Ramsey County Fair canceled for 4th straight year

The Ramsey County Fair will be canceled for a fourth straight year, and frustrated organizers now say they’re considering alternatives.

COVID-19 forced the fair to shut down in 2020, and it hasn’t been back since. The organization behind the fair, the Agricultural Society of Ramsey County, cites an ongoing disagreement with the county Board of Commissioners.

“After working on an agreement with Ramsey County for more than 3 years, we can not operate a Fair under the conditions and demands from Ramsey County Commissioners. It is very clear that they do not want a County Fair,” the Agricultural Society said in a statement.

Talks about using county resources began in 2019 when Ramsey County told the fair it can no longer use the second floor of the fairgrounds barn because of structural problems and fire safety concerns. The county said it also had concerns about the fair’s insurance coverage.

Later, Ramsey County decided it would no longer cover expenses related to operating the fair, such as the staff time for setup and teardown, recycling and garbage, and other utility costs. The county estimates these expenses for this year’s fair would have been around $25,000.

The county noted it does not provide these services to other organizations that hold events on county-owned land and that it is drafting a policy on county support for outside events.

“In the interim, the Ramsey County Agricultural Society was required to come into alignment with standard practices applied to all other organizations working with Ramsey County to put on an event, which included providing necessary insurance and indemnification as well as paying the costs associated with producing the event,” the county said in a statement.

While the Agricultural Society and Ramsey County remain at an impasse, the fair’s organizers said they are now looking into holding the event elsewhere, perhaps with a new name or even merging with another county fair.

The Ramsey County Fair began operation in 1913, but with no resolution in sight for its resumption, the Agricultural Society fears “a cascading effect on other County Fairs.”

“Ramsey County will be the only County in Minnesota without a County Fair,” the Agricultural Society said. “Until there is a change in the management of Ramsey County Commissioners, we will see more of this kind of closed mindedness.”