Grain Valley “Not Fair” Fair Promises Family Fun Despite Modifications

     While this year’s Grain Valley Fair will be missing the traditional carnival and parade, organizers have made an effort to provide plenty of family fun this weekend.
     Dubbed the “Not Fair” Fair in recognition of the modifications required due to COVID-19, the event will still feature many of the typical fair favorites at Armstrong Park. The Grain Valley Fair committee is utilizing the  generous space available at Armstrong Park to allow for plenty of social distancing for attendees.
     Grain Valley Fair committee member Mike Todd said the biggest obstacle this year was working to ensure Jackson County would approve their plans and allow the fair to continue.
     “We had to submit a pretty detailed plan to them in order to get the approval and that plan has changed a couple of times over the last couple of months.  We were really thinking when this all started at the beginning of summer that the requirements would be eased some, but in some cases things have gotten more strict,” Todd said.
     Food Truck Friday Night will kick off the event from 4:30pm—7:30pm. Todd said there will be more trucks than usual this Friday than usually featured at the Friday night event.
     The Grain Valley Partnership will host a modified beer garden on Friday and Saturday.
     Local band, Lake Love, will perform at 6:00pm on Friday.
     “Lake Love is composed of local Grain Valley High School students. They are playing for tips only so let's make sure Grain Valley shows them the love,” Grain Valley Partnership Executive Director Tasha Lindsey said.
     The “Not Fair” Fair continues Saturday, September 12th, with a selection of non-food vendors from 11:00am—5:00pm and food vendors from 11:00am—7:30pm.
     “For a lot of these vendors, this is one of only a few events that they can do this year, so we would love to be able to support them.  Most of them are local,” Todd said.
     “We have timed our activities to help with the crowd size. The activities are spread apart to ensure that we cover as much of the area as possible and limit the amount of people in an area at one time,” Lindsey said.
     “We need to make sure that we are thinking of others. Wear a mask, social distance and have fun. We are very fortunate that we are able to have this event so let's all play by the rules.”
     “Bring your yard chairs or blankets for a picnic. There are tables available and we will be spacing those to meet the requirements so that we can be social distanced. We will be disinfecting the tables to ensure that we are providing a safe and clean environment for everyone. Even though we can't bring in a carnival or activities for the littles, we have the park and feel this is a great family event,” Lindsey said.