Photo by Deb Gau Lyon County commissioners, including Gary Crowley, Paul Graupmann and Steve Ritter, talked about what COVID-19 restrictions would mean for the county’s sesquicentennial celebrations

MARSHALL — The COVID-19 pandemic has started to affect community gatherings from town festivals, to county fairs and the Minnesota State Fair. Left with fewer chances to celebrate, organizers for the Lyon County sesquicentennial said it would make more sense to hold off until next year.

A lot of the festivities for Lyon County’s 150th anniversary were originally planned around the county fair, which has now been postponed until 2021, said Lyon County Historical Society director Jennifer Andries. Health guidelines against crowds may also pose challenges for community summer festivals this year.

Lyon County can still recognize the sesquicentennial this year, Andries told county commissioners at their regular meeting Tuesday. However, postponing some of the celebrations would give residents across the county more of a chance to join in.

With the county fair postponed, “We should really make sure we celebrate next year,” Andries said.

While commissioners wondered if there would still be ways to hold events commemorating Lyon County’s anniversary, consensus was to wait.

Without opportunities like the fair and community festivals, “We can’t reach as many people as we’d like to,” said Commissioner Charlie Sanow.

Commissioners did discuss sales of commemorative items, like T-shirts and a historical photo book, for the sesquicentennial. The Historical Society was publishing the photo book to coincide with the anniversary this year. Andries said the plan was to start with having 500 books for sale. Commissioners voted to allow the Historical Society to use profits from the sales of shirts and books for future projects at the Lyon County Museum.

In a separate vote, commissioners acted to posptone the 150th celebrations until 2021.