by Kevin Ford, Assistant Editor
With help from the Aggie Club, the Woods County Fair’s livestock show will go on, as planned, this Friday.
The coronavirus pandemic changed a handful of activities, forcing the annual Woods County Fair to go from a three-day schedule to a brief, one-day all-inclusive event.
“We had to rethink and do some changes to the schedule,” Greg Highfill, county extension director and agricultural educator, said. “We had to cancel all indoor events in response to the pandemic.”
Highfill has been the county extension director for 8 years, since 2012 no other year has forced adjustments like 2020 has, he said. The livestock show will still go as planned, beginning with the swine show at 9:00 a.m. Friday, at the fairgrounds.
In addition to the livestock show, poultry and gardening shows are also taking entries for a showcase. These shows are also taking place on Friday, Highfill said. Entries have gone up, not as much for the livestock show, but it is still looking to be a big turnout.
Because of the virus, there will be fewer volunteers helping out. It would be too risky to have all the volunteers who normally participate to come out and be exposed to large crowds, Highfill said. Which is the big reason why the indoor events cannot take place.
The livestock schedule is set up to use an all-in and all-out format that will reduce the amount of time spent at the fairgrounds by the exhibitors and their animals. Each event takes place at a specific time to allow smooth transitions between prepping the show and reducing staggered movement between people at the grounds.
Despite the adjustments, Highfill said, they are excited for the event this Friday. People who attend the event will get to enjoy different livestock shows, as the horse show is also scheduled to go Friday.