SHAWANO, WI – “I don’t see anything stopping the fair from happening.”

Rainbow Valley Rides says they are ready to bring the entertainment to the Shawano County Fair.

Owner/Operator Chip Kedrowicz says it can be done with social distancing and proper sanitizing.

“We will be sanitizing the rides and will probably shut down for an hour mid-day and sanitize the rides again and wash the seats, tubs and lap bars, all the areas that people are making contact with.” He says because of that, and due to a lack of being able to be fully staffed, they will likely have a slightly smaller version of a typical Shawano County Fair.

“It won’t be the same as the past, we usually have about 23 rides, but this year might be 16 or so with some more spacing between the rides, but we will still try to put on a quality fair,” Kedrowicz said. “There will probably be a few less games.”

Rainbow Valley will be promoting proper hygiene through signage and easy access hand sanitizing.

“We will be setting up hand sanitizing stations at the exit of each ride which I think is the most important time to do it because they just had contact with the ride. We would ask that patrons take advantage of that.”

He says the best advice is to ride a ride, keep your hands away from your face, and sanitize them before you do anything else.

“If you are going to go, just comply. Don’t be touching your face.”

Chip added that they will make sure their staff is safe to be there around the patrons as well.

“We will be testing the temperatures of our employees at the start of each day and at the end of the day.”

“People just have respect and just slide off to the side and wait for people to pass and I think that is what you are going to see at the fair.

When it comes to highly shared carnival games, Kedrowicz says there will be a cleaning process that goes in place between patrons so patience is important.

“All they will do is drop the darts into a disinfectant. The balls will be wiped down prior to handing it to the next patron as well.”

With few events this year for Rainbow Valley, there was some red tape to cross before they were able to commit to Shawano. Most notable is the startup cost for a season.

“Your insurance, fire extinguishers need to be renewed before the start of the year and the start-up cost when we roll out of winter is just tremendous.”

He says that lots of work, conversations, and planning have gone into place to help keep fairgoers safe. He says the fair atmosphere does have one big advantage.

“It seems like the outside environment does not contract as much as indoor does, but you still have to use common sense. Being that it is an outdoor event, I feel it is a lot safer. You are out in the fresh air and sunlight and with all the pros of being outdoors.”

The Shawano County Fair is scheduled for September 2 through September 6.

CHIP KEDROWICZ TALKS ABOUT PLANS FOR THE FAIR MIDWAY