Harford County Farm Fair To Go Virtual In 2021

BEL AIR, MD — The 2021 Harford County Farm Fair will be held virtually, organizers recently announced.

The announcement cited coronavirus restrictions and logistical challenges as the reason for going virtual.

"As preparations began for the 34th annual Harford County Farm Fair, the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic were still in place, capacity limits did not support opening to large numbers of fairgoers and vaccinations were still months away," organizers said. "Especially concerning was the lack of on-site parking, which necessitates using school buses from several remote locations. We did not feel comfortable asking our fairgoers (as well as the bus personnel) to handle this. It would be impossible to have a successful Farm Fair with such limited attendance and under the restrictions that would need to be in place."

Community contests will be open to all who live within 25 miles of the fairgrounds, which is at 608 North Tollgate Road. Among them are the farm baby contest, cake decorating contest, woodworking and Harford's funniest animal contest as well as others. People will be able to submit photographs through an online system.

The Harford County 4-H program will handle registration for the bike rodeo, 4-H dog show, 4-H horse show, lawn mower and tractor driving contests, and other events, which will be conducted through videos and photographs, organizers said.

Daily shows for 4-H and FFA livestock will be in person; however, they will be closed to the public for health and safety reasons, organizers reported. Each day different animals will arrive for their shows and then leave. For example, The 4-H livestock sale will be livestreamed Saturday, July 31.

The Harford County Farm Fair will take place July 26 to 31. Email info@farmfair.org for more information.