2020 has been a bleak year for fair operators.
With Thanksgiving now here, Canadian Association of Amusement Operators (CAAO) Director Andrew Gidaro says their future is uncertain.
"We were not just closed down like some businesses were for a short period of time," said Gidaro. "Our season runs from May until Thanksgiving, so, for us, with the fall fair season pretty much done, all of our members are basically at zero percent revenue for what will likely be 18 months if we don't get back out until May 2021."
Gidaro isn't sure the wage support and small loans provided by the government so far is enough.
"I think to their credit they've done a good job, but for our industry, when we're at zero per cent revenue, they're not really helping us. Wage subsidies (are) only good when you actually have employees and wages to pay and some revenue coming in. When you're at zero per cent, it's not doing much for us."
Gidaro said many members have packed up and are doing other things to make a living right now.
"It's going to be pretty tough next year to get back out on the road, when we have to pay to licence all our trucks again, and pay to get permits, there's a lot of money that gets laid out right up front," Gidaro said. "If you haven't made money for 18 months, I don't know where a lot of our members, myself included, are going to find the money to do that."
World's Finest Shows General Manager Patrick Jamieson would have been finishing off Lambton County's fall fair circuit Thanksgiving weekend in Brigden.
He said the fair, which can attract as many as 50,000 people with good weather, wouldn't be the same without its midway.
"Brigden Fair is probably one of the best fairs of the year," said Jamieson. "I've met people from as far as north of Toronto that come to that fair."
Both men agree they need help figuring out solutions, whether it's bridge financing or a road map on how to get back to operating safely.
The Ontario government made nearly $1 million available in August, to help agricultural and horticultural societies forced to cancel fall fairs.
