For the last month, as social distancing ramped up and a wave of spring and summer events throughout the province were cancelled, the writing has been on the wall. On April 17, the news many people expected was made official: the 2020 edition of the Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair has been called off.
The announcement, although inevitable, is also especially disappointing given that this was to be the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fair. Several special events had been planned to commemorate the occasion.
“The decision was difficult, in that it is never what you want to do after planning for so long,” says Dustin Krahn of the fair committee. “The virus is obviously a major factor in our decision, but the tipping point really came when we got a better picture of all the economic implications that have transpired in the last month. After many discussions with our committee, we agreed wholeheartedly that it was not appropriate of us to be soliciting sponsorship and asking businesses to take on more burden given the current circumstances.”
Although the word is only going out now, Krahn says that the fair has for all intents and purposes been effectively cancelled since the end of March. Ever since, they’ve been working behind the scenes to notify all the relevant parties. Of which there are many.
“It’s not a terribly difficult process, but it takes time given that most events and festivals are all doing the same thing at the same time,” he says. “We had already booked most of the entertainment and infrastructure, all the bands and entertainers, the stage and sound crews, and security. We’d handled the advertising, ticketing, fireworks, and gotten permissions from Manitoba Highways, Hanover School Division, etc. As for the entertainers and all the companies involved, we are quite amazed at how great they have all been to work with through this—all things considered. Their industry has come to a dead stop, but they’re all very understanding and realize that everyone is in this boat together.”
Postponement
However, all of the legwork that has gone into planning this year’s fair will not go to waste. Krahn says that, in large part, the 2020 fair will simply be postponed until 2021.
“It isn’t all for nothing,” says Krahn. “We will wind up benefiting from a lot of this year’s work next year. In many cases, we have managed to simply move things over to next year, so there isn’t a lot to undo necessarily. The implications here aren’t huge. In the grand scheme, this should, if anything, give us more time for planning next year as a good chunk of the legwork has already been taken care of.”
He adds that the committee has luckily managed to re-secure this year’s entertainment to commit to instead come out to Niverville in 2021. This means that the previously announced headline acts, High Valley and Big Top Radio, will still hit the mainstage—they’ll just do it one year later than expected.
Therefore, the show will go on. The new dates are June 11–12, 2021.
High Valley is a high-energy country duo featuring two Canadian brothers, Brad and Curtis Rempel. After signing with Atlantic/Warner Nashville in 2015, they released their debut album, Dear Life, which includes two gold-certified singles, “Make You Mine” and “She’s with Me.” Their second album will be released later in 2020.
The Rempel brothers received two consecutive Academy of Country Music (ACM) nominations for New Vocal Duo or Group. Over the past few years, they have toured the world, opening for bands like Old Dominion as well as headlining their own shows.
Big Top Radio is a seven-piece 80s rock anthem cover band. However, they’re no ordinary cover band, as the 80s included a lot of hair spray, tight and bright clothes, and theatrics. This band brings you right back to those times of old, touting an authentic and loud re-enactment of one of rock music’s most bombastic and showstopping eras.
They not only cover songs from Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper, and Queen, but they also cover each detailed look, down to the feather boas.
Prepurchased Tickets
For those who have already prepurchased tickets for the 2020 event, including individual tickets as well as the family pack pre-sale deal, the fair committee has said those tickets can be kept and honoured in 2021. However, those who would prefer to instead seek a refund can contact them by email (see below).
Krahn says that despite the cancellation, the fair committee is still looking for volunteers to help out with some work that will still need to be done this summer and fall—assuming that social distancing measures have been relaxed enough to allow groups to work together. This work includes fixing and maintaining ticket booths, build another grain bin bar, and make new kids games.
“We will be trying to use the year off to still make some behind the scenes improvements,” he adds. “Rest assured, this is a detour on our journey, not a dead end.”
