Reduced entrance fees, limited quests and extended days are some of the changes made to MontanaFair this year.
Bill Dutcher and Ray Massie from MetraPark visited with Montana This Morning on Monday to share information on how they have worked to keep the fair open and safe.
Watch the video above for full details.
Here's the full press release issued Monday by MetraPark:
The biggest annual event in Montana, MontanaFair has been adapting, changing, and working hard to provide an Open and Safe fair in 2020. Physical distancing guidelines and capacity restrictions have required a lot of changes to this year’s event.
Changes have had a good side to them too.
There are more days to MontanaFair this year. Normally, the fair begins the second Saturday in August for 9 days. In order to improve guest safety, MontanaFair will run 17 days in 2020. Sneak-A-Peek Weekends for the fair begin July 24. The Mighty Thomas Carnival will be back with a completely new ride plan on the grounds. This plan includes more space between rides, fewer riders on each attraction, and more space for proper distancing.
MontanaFair General Manager Bill Dutcher, “safety is our primary focus every year at MontanaFair. People can’t have fun unless they feel they are safe. These changes will really improve the experience.”
MontanaFair will maintain a strict capacity limit on the grounds with no more than 3000 guests allowed on the fairgrounds at one time. Under normal operation, MontanaFair grounds has over two million square feet of guest space and approximately 12,000 people on grounds simultaneously. The capacity limit will allow for minimized line sizes for safety. These changes give guests a large amount of physical distancing to provide additional levels of safety.
Online advance admission and carnival ride tickets are available for sale beginning July 6 at MontanaFair.com. Guests are strongly urged to get their tickets online to reduce lines.
MontanaFair opens all portions of the fair for business August 7.
