Because of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, State Fair of Texas board of directors have voted to cancel this year's event.

According to the Dallas News the announcement was made earlier today.

This will be only the eighth time in 134 years that the State Fair of Texas has been cancelled. Most of the previous times were due to ongoing world wars. The fair was cancelled near the end of World War I when the grounds were used as a military encampment, it took a sabbatical in the 1930s to make way for the Texas Centennial Exposition, and it was cancelled again in the 1940s when the grounds were used as military housing during World War II.

Gina Norris, the board chair for the State Fair of Texas, said that there was no plausible way to have both the state fair experience while maintaining the safety protocols that the current coronavirus pandemic has plunged us all into.

Last year the State Fair of Texas saw more than 2.5 million visitors with some individual days drawing more than 200,000 people.

The loss of this year's state fair will cause an economic impact of between $400 and $500 million to the Dallas area. That makes it comparable to the economic impact of an event like the Super Bowl.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said that while he is saddened by the loss of the State Fair of Texas this year, public health concerns must come first.

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