Orillia Fall Fair returns
BARRIE, ONT. -
After a year-long forced hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a family-friendly fall favourite has returned to the sunshine city.
The Orillia Fall Fair marked its return to the region today. The popular festival was put on hold in 2020 due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
"People have been so cooped up at home because of COVID," says Chad Cooke, the president of the Orillia & District Agricultural Society, the group behind the fair. "It's nice to be able to get out and finally get back to a little bit of reality, safe reality, but reality."
This year marks the 171st that the fair has taken over the grounds of ODAS Park. The festival is traditionally three days but was reduced to just one day to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials say after the last year, it was needed.
"Due to the overwhelming response, I think it's important to a lot of people," says Cooke. "You have to maintain doing everything safely, of course, but you need to experience a bit of life as well. I think this is the first real sign of normalcy in our area that we've seen in a long time."
The health unit limited capacity to no more than 5,000 people. Officials say they are hoping to expand to the standard length once again for next year.
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