2020 Verde Valley Fair canceled; youth to have online livestock show, auction

The Junior Livestock Show and a livestock auction will still take place, in an online internet format. (VVN file photo)

JASON W. BROOKS, Special to the Courier

Originally Published: April 12, 2020 7 p.m.

COTTONWOOD — The sights and sounds of the Verde Valley Fair will have to wait until 2021.

The first Verde Valley Fair was held in 1965. The 2020 event was set to be held the weekend of April 30.

This week, most elements of the fair become one of the latest Northern Arizona events to be canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With six-foot distance recommendations and a stay-at-home advisory from the governor to slow the spread of the virus, it simply wasn’t practical to attempt to hold most of the fair events.

The Junior Livestock Show and a livestock auction will still take place, in an online internet format.

“The Association had to make the hard decision to cancel the 2020 live fair,” the news release states. “This decision was very hard to make, and affects many people. But like the Fair mission statement reads, the Verde Valley Fair Association is dedicated to promoting youth development by providing an educational and entertaining annual event that will allow for FFA, 4-H and organized youth groups to showcase their products and skills to the general public.”

With its mission statement in mind, the association still wants to try to help its livestock-raising youth sell their animals.

A “Virtual Junior Livestock Show” will be arranged. The tentative date for weighing is Saturday, April 18.

All market small stock and large stock can enter. The shows will be judged for conformation only and will use the originally contracted judges.

The show will not include boosters, breeding stock or non-auction animals.

The auction will be an “eBay style” event, the release states, and is tentatively set for Saturday, May 2. It will include all market small stock and large stock.

“We are waiting on notice from the auction company, regarding their availability,” the release states.

The livestock committee will determine minimum starting bid, for each species.

The association has pledged to work with both Yavapai County Community Health Services and the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension to determine best physical-distancing practices for the event.

For information, visit the website vvfair.com, call 928-634-3290 or send an email to fair@vvfair.com.

The Verde Independent is a sister publication of The Daily Courier in Cottonwood.