Then-Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello is pictured during the opening of the County Fair in July 2019. P-J file photo

DUNKIRK — This past year the New York State Fair broke its attendance record for the fourth consecutive year.

That streak will likely come to an end this summer as Gov. Andrew Cuomo alluded to the possibility of its canceling if the state is not completely opened back up. While Cuomo’s comments seem gloomy, he did not officially cancel anything as it is too early to forecast what is happening months from now.

Locally, at the Chautauqua County Fair, things are still a go for the July 20 start date.

“It’s really too early yet,” said David Wilson, Chautauqua County Fair president, on making any decision. “We’re having a fair board meeting on May 18; that’s when we’re going to have a decision and that may change too.”

Currently, New York is on “pause” until May 15 at least, and the situation will be assessed to determine if we can return to some sort of normalcy.

“We are standing by for some direction,” Wilson said. “As of right now it’s a go, but that may change.”

For most people the County Fair is an event to have fun at with great food, friends and entertainment. But, to local 4-H youth, it serves as a place of competition in an array of events that displays what they have learned in their animal science projects. The events include beef and heifer, dairy, dog, goat, hog, horse, exhibition poultry, market poultry, rabbit and sheep.

For each project, students put countless hours into working with their animals, and at the Chautauqua County Fair, the youth get to see how they did all year and earn a chance for an award. Winners get a chance to move on to the State Fair in Syracuse, but all of the hard work could be for not if the state continues to be locked down.

“At this time there is not enough information to make an informed statement about the County Fair,” said Emily Reynolds, executive director of Chautauqua County’s Cornell Cooperative Extension “It is our sincere hope that we will be able to have some sort of County Fair, but the decision will be dependent upon the Department of Agriculture, and the Chautauqua County Agricultural Society.”

Worst case scenario, if there is no fair, the 4-H youth in Chautauqua County will still have something for them.

“Obviously, without a fair we will need to develop some innovative and creative opportunities for the 4-H Youth in Chautauqua County,” Reynolds said.