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Nipawin Exhibition cancelled for 2020

NIPAWIN — For the first time since 1970, there won't be a Nipawin Exhibition this July.
Nipawin Ex 2018
File photo

NIPAWIN — For the first time since 1970, there won't be a Nipawin Exhibition this July.

In a public letter, Debra Lacheur, the president of the Nipawin Exhibition Association, said due to the pandemic, the businesses that support the fair have either had to close or change the way they operate, while the people that support the fair are unsure of what their future holds, with many being laid off.

“These businesses and residents are the same people who have continued to support us year after year. They are the people we count on to write the sponsorship cheques, to work at the gates, to volunteer at events, and bring their families through the gates to support us,” she said.

“The executive of the Nipawin Exhibition Association have decided it is now our turn to support all of you. We do not want to be the organization that is focused solely on our event, ignoring the cost to everyone else for sponsorships, midway ride passes, daily passes or for anything else that attending the Exhibition entails.”

Lacheur said it was a heart-wrenching decision for the exhibition association to not host the event.

“Believe me when I say this has been a very emotional journey to get to this outcome, but it is the right decision for us to make,” she said.

“This will be a year of rebuilding for our communities so we will rebuild with you. We will take this opportunity to fine-tune some things, maybe put a little lipstick on some of our favourite piggies, like the heavy horse barn, work on the racetrack and who knows what else.”

The three-day event was established in 1928.